Semiconductor Device with Dynamic Array Section

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor chip is provided to include one or more distinct but functionally interfaced dynamic array sections. Each dynamic array section follows a dynamic array architecture that requires conductive features to be linearly defined along a virtual grate in each of a plurality of levels of the semiconductor chip. Each virtual grate is perpendicular to another virtual grate that is either a level above or a level below. Each virtual grate is defined by a framework of parallel lines spaced at a constant pitch. Some of the lines in the virtual grate are occupied by multiple conductive features. A substantially uniform gap can be maintained between proximate ends of adjacent conductive features that occupy a common line in the virtual grate. The substantially uniform gap between the proximate ends of adjacent conductive features can be maintained within each line in the virtual grate that is occupied by multiple conductive features.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 60/963,364, filed Aug. 2, 2007,entitled “Dynamic Array Architecture,” and claims priority under 35U.S.C. 119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/972,394,filed Sep. 14, 2007, entitled “Dynamic Array Architecture.” Thedisclosure of each above-identified provisional patent application isincorporated herein by reference.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is also related to U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/683,402, filed on Mar. 7, 2007, and entitled “Dynamic ArrayArchitecture.” This application is also related to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. BECKP004C), filed on aneven data herewith, and entitled “Methods for Designing SemiconductorDevice with Dynamic Array Section.” This application is also related toU.S. patent application Ser. No. ______ (Attorney Docket No. BECKP004D),filed on an even data herewith, and entitled “Methods for DefiningDynamic Array Section with Manufacturing Assurance Halo and ApparatusImplementing the Same.”

BACKGROUND

A push for higher performance and smaller die size drives thesemiconductor industry to reduce circuit chip area by approximately 50%every two years. The chip area reduction provides an economic benefitfor migrating to newer technologies. The 50% chip area reduction isachieved by reducing the feature sizes between 25% and 30%. Thereduction in feature size is enabled by improvements in manufacturingequipment and materials. For example, improvement in the lithographicprocess has enabled smaller feature sizes to be achieved, whileimprovement in chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) has in-part enabled ahigher number of interconnect layers.

In the evolution of lithography, as the minimum feature size approachedthe wavelength of the light source used to expose the feature shapes,unintended interactions occurred between neighboring features. Todayminimum feature sizes are approaching 45 nm (nanometers), while thewavelength of the light source used in the photolithography processremains at 193 nm. The difference between the minimum feature size andthe wavelength of light used in the photolithography process is definedas the lithographic gap. As the lithographic gap grows, the resolutioncapability of the lithographic process decreases.

An interference pattern occurs as each shape on the mask interacts withthe light. The interference patterns from neighboring shapes can createconstructive or destructive interference. In the case of constructiveinterference, unwanted shapes may be inadvertently created. In the caseof destructive interference, desired shapes may be inadvertentlyremoved. In either case, a particular shape is printed in a differentmanner than intended, possibly causing a device failure. Correctionmethodologies, such as optical proximity correction (OPC), attempt topredict the impact from neighboring shapes and modify the mask such thatthe printed shape is fabricated as desired. The quality of the lightinteraction prediction is declining as process geometries shrink and asthe light interactions become more complex.

In view of the foregoing, a solution is needed for managing lithographicgap issues as technology continues to progress toward smallersemiconductor device features sizes.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a semiconductor chip configured to include one ormore distinct but functionally interfaced dynamic array sections isdisclosed. A dynamic array section is defined on the semiconductor chipto follow a dynamic array architecture. The dynamic array architecturerequires conductive features to be linearly defined along a virtualgrate in each of a plurality of levels of the dynamic array section.Each level in the plurality of levels of the dynamic array section has arespective virtual grate that is perpendicular to another virtual grateat either a level above or a level below. In the dynamic arrayarchitecture, each virtual grate is defined by a framework of parallellines spaced at about a constant pitch. Also in the dynamic arrayarchitecture, given ones of the parallel lines in the virtual grate areoccupied by multiple conductive features. Moreover, a substantiallyuniform gap is maintained between proximate ends of adjacent conductivefeatures that occupy a common line in the virtual grate. Thesubstantially uniform gap between the proximate ends of adjacentconductive features is maintained within each line that is occupied bymultiple conductive features within a given virtual grate.

In another embodiment, a semiconductor chip configured to include one ormore distinct but functionally interfaced dynamic array sections isdisclosed. In this embodiment, a first section is defined on thesemiconductor chip to include layout features that do not follow adynamic array architecture. Also in this embodiment, a second section isdefined on the semiconductor chip to follow the dynamic arrayarchitecture, such that the second section includes a number of dynamicarray sections. The dynamic array architecture requires conductivefeatures in each of the dynamic array sections to be linearly definedalong a virtual grate in each of a plurality of levels of the dynamicarray section. Each level in the plurality of levels of the dynamicarray section has a respective virtual grate that is perpendicular toanother virtual grate that is either a level above or a level below. Inthe dynamic array architecture, each virtual grate is defined by aframework of parallel lines spaced at a substantially constant pitch.Also in the dynamic array architecture, given ones of the parallel linesin the framework are occupied by multiple conductive features. Asubstantially uniform gap is maintained between proximate ends ofadjacent conductive features that occupy a common line in the framework.Additionally, the substantially uniform gap is maintained between theproximate ends of the adjacent conductive features in parallel lines inthe framework that have multiple conductive features.

In another embodiment, a semiconductor device is disclosed. Thesemiconductor device includes a substrate portion allocated for adynamic array section. The substrate portion has at least one diffusionregion defined therein. The semiconductor device also includes a firstplurality of linear conductive features defined in a first level overthe substrate portion. The first plurality of linear conductive featuresis disposed according to a first virtual grate projected upon thesubstrate portion. The first virtual grate is defined by a framework ofparallel lines spaced at a substantially constant pitch. Each of thefirst plurality of linear conductive features is disposed upon a line ofthe first virtual grate such that manufacturability of the linearconductive feature and its neighboring linear conductive features withinthe first level can be accurately predicted. A uniform separationdistance is used to separate proximate ends of adjacent linearconductive features within the first level in a common line of the firstvirtual grate. The uniform separation distance is applied consistentlywithin the first level across each line of the first virtual grate. Thesemiconductor device further includes a second plurality of linearconductive features defined in a second level over the first level. Thesecond plurality of linear conductive features is disposed according toa second virtual grate projected upon the substrate portion. The secondvirtual grate is defined by a framework of parallel lines spaced at asubstantially constant pitch. The lines of the second virtual grate areoriented to be perpendicular to the lines of the first virtual grate.Each of the second plurality of linear conductive features is disposedupon a line of the second virtual grate such that manufacturability ofthe linear conductive feature and its neighboring linear conductivefeatures within the second level can be accurately predicted.

In another embodiment, a semiconductor device is disclosed. Thesemiconductor device includes a substrate portion allocated for adynamic array section. The substrate portion has at least one diffusionregion defined therein. The semiconductor device also includes a firstplurality of linear conductive features defined in a first level overthe substrate portion. The first plurality of linear conductive featuresis disposed according to a first virtual grate projected upon thesubstrate portion. The first virtual grate is defined by a framework ofparallel lines spaced at a substantially constant pitch. Each of thefirst plurality of linear conductive features is disposed upon a line ofthe first virtual grate such that manufacturability of the linearconductive feature and its neighboring linear conductive features withinthe first level can be accurately predicted. A number of linear gateelectrode features are respectively formed by a number of the firstplurality of linear conductive features. Each of the number of lineargate electrode features is defined to occupy a portion of a line of thefirst virtual grate that extends over a diffusion region defined withinthe substrate portion. A number of linear manufacturing reinforcementfeatures are respectively formed within the first level by a number ofthe first plurality of linear conductive features that do not formlinear gate electrode features. Each of the number of linearmanufacturing reinforcement features within the first level is definedto be inactive with respect to electrical circuit functionality. Thesemiconductor device further includes a second plurality of linearconductive features defined in a second level over the first level. Thesecond plurality of linear conductive features is disposed according toa second virtual grate projected upon the substrate portion. The secondvirtual grate is defined by a framework of parallel lines spaced at asubstantially constant pitch. The lines of the second virtual grate areoriented to be perpendicular to the lines of the first virtual grate.Each of the second plurality of linear conductive features is disposedupon a line of the second virtual grate such that manufacturability ofthe linear conductive feature and its neighboring linear conductivefeatures within the second level can be accurately predicted.

Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become more apparentfrom the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the presentinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration showing a number of neighboring layoutfeatures and a representation of light intensity used to render each ofthe layout features, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is an illustration showing a generalized stack of layers used todefine a dynamic array architecture, in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 3A is an illustration showing an exemplary base grid to beprojected onto the dynamic array to facilitate definition of therestricted topology, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3B is an illustration showing separate base grids projected acrossseparate regions of the die, in accordance with an exemplary embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 3C is an illustration showing an exemplary linear-shaped featuredefined to be compatible with the dynamic array, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3D is an illustration showing another exemplary linear-shapedfeature defined to be compatible with the dynamic array, in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an illustration showing a diffusion layer layout of anexemplary dynamic array, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 is an illustration showing a gate electrode layer and a diffusioncontact layer above and adjacent to the diffusion layer of FIG. 4, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is an illustration showing a gate electrode contact layer definedabove and adjacent to the gate electrode layer of FIG. 5, in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7A is an illustration showing a traditional approach for makingcontact to the gate electrode;

FIG. 7B is an illustration showing a gate electrode contact defined inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8A is an illustration showing a metal 1 layer defined above andadjacent to the gate electrode contact layer of FIG. 6, in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8B is an illustration showing the metal 1 layer of FIG. 8A withlarger track widths for the metal 1 ground and power tracks, relative tothe other metal 1 tracks;

FIG. 9 is an illustration showing a via 1 layer defined above andadjacent to the metal 1 layer of FIG. 8A, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is an illustration showing a metal 2 layer defined above andadjacent to the via 1 layer of FIG. 9, in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention;

FIG. 11 is an illustration showing conductor tracks traversing thedynamic array in a first diagonal direction relative to the first andsecond reference directions (x) and (y), in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 is an illustration showing conductor tracks traversing thedynamic array in a second diagonal direction relative to the first andsecond reference directions (x) and (y), in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13A is an illustration showing an example of a sub-resolutioncontact layout used to lithographically reinforce diffusion contacts andgate electrode contacts, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 13B is an illustration showing the sub-resolution contact layout ofFIG. 13A with sub-resolution contacts defined to fill the grid to theextent possible, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 13C is an illustration showing an example of a sub-resolutioncontact layout utilizing various shaped sub-resolution contacts, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13D is an illustration showing an exemplary implementation ofalternate phase shift masking (APSM) with sub-resolution contacts, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is an illustration showing a semiconductor chip structure, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is an illustration showing an exemplary chip implementing thedynamic array architecture, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 16 is an illustration showing a blank canvas of the dynamic arrayarchitecture region, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 17A is an illustration showing a number of exemplary dynamic arraysections defined within the dynamic array architecture region, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17B is an illustration showing a number of dynamic array sectionsdefined at a higher vertical position within the dynamic arrayarchitecture region, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 17C is an illustration showing a side view of the DAS stack of FIG.17B, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is an illustration showing a substrate level of DAS10, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19A is an illustration showing a gate electrode level virtual gratefor the DAS10 example, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 19A1 is an illustration showing a virtual grate of the gateelectrode level set at a pitch equal to one-half of the minimumcenter-to-center spacing between adjacent contacted gate electrodefeatures, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19B is an illustration showing full-length linear conductivefeatures defined along each line of the gate electrode level virtualgrate of FIG. 19A, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 19B1 is an illustration showing linear conductive features definedalong various lines of the gate electrode level virtual grate of FIG.19A1, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 19C is an illustration showing a segmentation of the linearconductive features of FIG. 19B, in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 19D is an illustration showing the gate electrode level segmentedfeatures of FIG. 19C with a region within which a non-functional linearconductive feature has been eliminated;

FIG. 20A is an illustration showing a first interconnect level virtualgrate for the DAS10 example, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 20A1 is an illustration showing a virtual grate of the firstinterconnect level set at a pitch equal to one-half of the minimumcenter-to-center spacing between adjacent contacted linear conductivefeatures of the first interconnect level, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 20B is an illustration showing full-length linear conductivefeatures defined along each line of the first interconnect level virtualgrate of FIG. 20A, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 20B1 is an illustration showing linear conductive features definedalong various lines of the first interconnect level virtual grate ofFIG. 20A1, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 20C is an illustration showing a segmentation of the linearconductive features of FIG. 20B, in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 21A is an illustration showing a second interconnect level virtualgrate for the DAS10 example, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 21B is an illustration showing the spatial relationship between thesecond interconnect level and gate electrode level virtual grates forthe DAS10 example, as defined based on a 3-to-2 pitch relationshipbetween second interconnect level and gate electrode level conductivefeatures, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 21C is an illustration showing full-length linear conductivefeatures defined along each line of the second interconnect levelvirtual grate, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 21D is an illustration showing a segmentation of the linearconductive features within the second interconnect level, in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 22A is an illustration showing a second interconnect level virtualgrate for the DAS10 example, as defined based on a 4-to-3 pitchrelationship between second interconnect level and gate electrode levelconductive features, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 22B is an illustration showing the spatial relationship between thesecond interconnect level and gate electrode level virtual grates forthe dynamic array section, as defined based on a 4-to-3 pitchrelationship between second interconnect level and gate electrode levelconductive features, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 22C is an illustration showing full-length linear conductivefeatures defined along each line of the second interconnect levelvirtual grate, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 22D is an illustration showing a segmentation of the linearconductive features of FIG. 22C within the second interconnect level, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 23 is an illustration showing the second interconnect level of FIG.22D with a number of exemplary via locations identified thereon, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 24A is an illustration showing a third interconnect level virtualgrate for the DAS10 example, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 24B is an illustration showing a spatial relationship between thethird interconnect level and first interconnect level virtual grates forthe DAS10 example, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 24C is an illustration showing full-length linear conductivefeatures defined along each line of the third interconnect level virtualgrate, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 24D is an illustration showing a segmentation of the linearconductive features within the third interconnect level, in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 25A is an illustration showing a number of exemplary DASs withtheir respective manufacturing assurance boundary compatibilitydesignations, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 25B is an illustration showing an exemplary assembly of the DASs ofFIG. 25A on a DAS grid according to their respective manufacturingassurance boundary compatibility designations, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 25C is an illustration showing an exemplary assembly of the DASs ofFIG. 25A on a DAS grid according to their respective manufacturingassurance boundary compatibility designations with intentionally definedempty areas, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 26A-1 is an illustration showing a level of an exemplary DAS, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 26A-2 is an illustration showing the exemplary DAS of FIG. 26A-1with its DAS halo region pre-defined to include a number ofreinforcement features, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 26B-1 is an illustration showing a level of another exemplary DAS,in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 26B-2 is an illustration showing the exemplary DAS of FIG. 26B-1with its DAS halo region pre-defined to include a number ofreinforcement features, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 26C-1 is an illustration showing an exemplary placement of the DASof FIG. 26A-2 and the DAS of FIG. 26B-2 on a DAS grid, in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 26C-2 is an illustration showing an exemplary placement of the DASof FIG. 26A-2 and the DAS of FIG. 26B-2 on a DAS grid without regard totheir respective DAS halos, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 26C-3 is an illustration showing the DAS cluster of FIG. 26C-2having a DAS halo boundary defined around the periphery of the DAScluster to form a DAS halo region, in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 26C-4 is an illustration showing the defined content of the DAShalo region of FIG. 26C-3, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 26C-5 is an illustration showing the particular level of the DAScluster of FIG. 26C-4 having a number of DAS interconnection segmentsdefined therein, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 26D-1 is an illustration showing a flowchart of a method fordefining a dynamic array architecture region of a semiconductor chip, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention, in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 26D-2 is an illustration showing a flowchart of a method fordefining a dynamic array architecture region of a semiconductor chip, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 27A is an illustration showing an exemplary DAS that defines alogic cell, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 27B shows a number of instances of the example DAS of FIG. 27Aplaced adjacent to each other so as to share DAS components that extendbeyond the DAS boundary, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 28A is an illustration showing a flowchart of a method fordesigning a semiconductor chip having one or more functionallyinterfaced dynamic array sections, in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 28B is an illustration showing a continuation of the flowchart ofthe method of FIG. 28A, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 28C is an illustration showing an expansion of the operation 2809of FIG. 28B, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 29A is an illustration showing a flowchart of a method fordesigning a semiconductor chip having one or more functionallyinterfaced dynamic array sections, in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention;

FIG. 29B is an illustration showing an expansion of the operation 2907of FIG. 29A, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 30 is an illustration showing a flowchart of a method for designinga DAS of a semiconductor chip, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 31 is an illustration showing a flowchart of a method for defininga dynamic array section to be manufactured on a semiconductor chip, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 32 is an illustration showing a flowchart of a method for designinga semiconductor chip having one or more functionally interfaced dynamicarray sections, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 33 is an illustration showing an example of different phasings in asecond interconnect level of adjacently disposed logic cells definedwithin a DAS, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. Itwill be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art that the presentinvention may be practiced without some or all of these specificdetails. In other instances, well known process operations have not beendescribed in detail in order not to unnecessarily obscure the presentinvention.

Generally speaking, a dynamic array architecture is provided to addresssemiconductor manufacturing process variability associated with acontinually increasing lithographic gap. In the area of semiconductormanufacturing, lithographic gap is defined as the difference between theminimum size of a feature to be defined and the wavelength of light usedto render the feature in the lithographic process, wherein the featuresize is less than the wavelength of the light. Current lithographicprocesses utilize a light wavelength of 193 nm. However, current featuresizes are as small as 65 nm and are expected to soon approach sizes assmall as 45 nm. With a size of 65 nm, the shapes are three times smallerthan the wavelength of the light used to define the shapes. Also,considering that the interaction radius of light is about five lightwavelengths, it should be appreciated that shapes exposed with a 193 nmlight source will influence the exposure of shapes approximately 5*193nm (965 nm) away. When considering the 65 nm sized features with respectto 90 nm sized features, it should be appreciated that approximately twotimes as many 65 nm sizes features may be within the 965 nm interactionradius of the 193 nm light source as compared to the 90 nm sizedfeatures.

Due to the increased number of features within the interaction radius ofthe light source, the extent and complexity of light interferencecontributing to exposure of a given feature is significant.Additionally, the particular shapes associated with the features withinthe interaction radius of the light source weighs heavily on the type oflight interactions that occur. Traditionally, designers were allowed todefine essentially any two-dimensional topology of feature shapes solong as a set of design rules were satisfied. For example, in a givenlayer of the chip, i.e., in a given mask, the designer may have definedtwo-dimensionally varying features having bends that wrap around eachother. When such two-dimensionally varying features are located inneighboring proximity to each other, the light used to expose thefeatures will interact in a complex and generally unpredictable manner.The light interaction becomes increasingly more complex andunpredictable as the feature sizes and relative spacing become smaller.

Traditionally, if a designer follows the established set of designrules, the resulting product will be manufacturable with a specifiedprobability associated with the set of design rules. Otherwise, for adesign that violates the set of design rules, the probability ofsuccessful manufacture of the resulting product is unknown. To addressthe complex light interaction between neighboring two-dimensionallyvarying features, in the interest of successful product manufacturing,the set of design rules is expanded significantly to adequately addressthe possible combinations of two-dimensionally varying features. Thisexpanded set of design rules quickly becomes so complicated and unwieldythat application of the expanded set of design rules becomesprohibitively time consuming, expensive, and prone to error. Forexample, the expanded set of design rules requires complex verification.Also, the expanded set of design rules may not be universally applied.Furthermore, manufacturing yield is not guaranteed even if all designrules are satisfied.

It should be appreciated that accurate prediction of all possible lightinteractions when rendering arbitrarily-shaped two-dimensional featuresis generally not feasible. Moreover, as an alternative to or incombination with expansion of the set of design rules, the set of designrules may also be modified to include increased margin to account forunpredictable light interaction between the neighboringtwo-dimensionally varying features. Because the design rules areestablished in an attempt to cover the random two-dimensional featuretopology, the design rules may incorporate a significant amount ofmargin. While addition of margin in the set of design rules assists withthe layout portions that include the neighboring two-dimensionallyvarying features, such global addition of margin causes other portionsof the layout that do not include the neighboring two-dimensionallyvarying features to be overdesigned, thus leading to decreasedoptimization of chip area utilization and electrical performance.

In view of the foregoing, it should be appreciated that semiconductorproduct yield is reduced as a result of parametric failures that stemfrom variability introduced by design-dependent unconstrained featuretopologies, i.e., arbitrary two-dimensionally varying features disposedin proximity to each other. By way of example, these parametric failuresmay result from failure to accurately print contacts and vias and fromvariability in fabrication processes. The variability in fabricationprocesses may include CMP dishing, layout feature shape distortion dueto photolithography, gate distortion, oxide thickness variability,implant variability, and other fabrication related phenomena. Thedynamic array architecture of the present invention is defined toaddress the above-mentioned semiconductor manufacturing processvariability.

FIG. 1 is an illustration showing a number of neighboring layoutfeatures and a representation of light intensity used to render each ofthe layout features, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. Specifically, three neighboring linear-shaped layout features(101A-101C) are depicted as being disposed in a substantially parallelrelationship within a given mask layer. The distribution of lightintensity from a layout feature shape is represented by a sinc function.The sinc functions (103A-103C) represent the distribution of lightintensity from each of the layout features (101A-101C, respectively).The neighboring linear-shaped layout features (101A-101C) are spacedapart at locations corresponding to peaks of the sinc functions(103A-103C). Thus, constructive interference between the light energyassociated with the neighboring layout features (101A-101C), i.e., atthe peaks of the sinc functions (103A-103C), serves to reinforce theexposure of the neighboring shapes (101A-101C) for the layout featurespacing illustrated. In accordance with the foregoing, the lightinteraction represented in FIG. 1 represents a synchronous case.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, when linear-shaped layout features are definedin a regular repeating pattern at an appropriate spacing, constructiveinterference of the light energy associated with the various layoutfeatures serves to enhance the exposure of each layout feature. Theenhanced exposure of the layout features provided by the constructivelight interference can dramatically reduce or even eliminate a need toutilize optical proximity correction (OPC) and/or reticle enhancementtechnology (RET) to obtain sufficient rendering of the layout features.

A forbidden pitch, i.e., forbidden layout feature spacing, occurs whenthe neighboring layout features (101A-101C) are spaced such that peaksof the sinc function associated with one layout feature align withvalleys of the sinc function associated with another layout feature,thus causing destructive interference of the light energy. Thedestructive interference of the light energy causes the light energyfocused at a given location to be reduced. Therefore, to realize thebeneficial constructive light interference associated with neighboringlayout features, it is necessary to predict the layout feature spacingat which the constructive overlap of the sinc function peaks will occur.Predictable constructive overlap of the sinc function peaks andcorresponding layout feature shape enhancement can be realized if thelayout feature shapes are rectangular, near the same size, and areoriented in the same direction, as illustrated by the layout features(101A-101C) in FIG. 1. In this manner, resonant light energy fromneighboring layout feature shapes is used to enhance the exposure of aparticular layout feature shape.

FIG. 2 is an illustration showing a generalized stack of layers used todefine a dynamic array architecture, in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention. It should be appreciated that the generalizedstack of layers used to define the dynamic array architecture, asdescribed with respect to FIG. 2, is not intended to represent anexhaustive description of the CMOS manufacturing process. However, thedynamic array is to be built in accordance with standard CMOSmanufacturing processes. Generally speaking, the dynamic arrayarchitecture includes both the definition of the underlying structure ofthe dynamic array and the techniques for assembling the dynamic arrayfor optimization of area utilization and manufacturability. Thus, thedynamic array is designed to optimize semiconductor manufacturingcapabilities.

With regard to the definition of the underlying structure of the dynamicarray, the dynamic array is built-up in a layered manner upon a basesubstrate 201, e.g., upon a silicon substrate, or silicon-on-insulator(SOI) substrate. Diffusion regions 203 are defined in the base substrate201. The diffusion regions 203 represent selected regions of the basesubstrate 201 within which impurities are introduced for the purpose ofmodifying the electrical properties of the base substrate 201. Above thediffusion regions 203, diffusion contacts 205 are defined to enableconnection between the diffusion regions 203 and conductor lines. Forexample, the diffusion contacts 205 are defined to enable connectionbetween source and drain diffusion regions 203 and their respectiveconductor nets. Also, gate electrode features 207 are defined above thediffusion regions 203 to form transistor gates. Gate electrode contacts209 are defined to enable connection between the gate electrode features207 and conductor lines. For example, the gate electrode contacts 209are defined to enable connection between transistor gates and theirrespective conductor nets.

Interconnect layers are defined above the diffusion contact 205 layerand the gate electrode contact layer 209. The interconnect layersinclude a first metal (metal 1) layer 211, a first via (via 1) layer213, a second metal (metal 2) layer 215, a second via (via 2) layer 217,a third metal (metal 3) layer 219, a third via (via 3) layer 221, and afourth metal (metal 4) layer 223. The metal and via layers enabledefinition of the desired circuit connectivity. For example, the metaland via layers enable electrical connection of the various diffusioncontacts 205 and gate electrode contacts 209 such that the logicfunction of the circuitry is realized. It should be appreciated that thedynamic array architecture is not limited to a specific number ofinterconnect layers, i.e., metal and via layers. In one embodiment, thedynamic array may include additional interconnect layers 225, beyond thefourth metal (metal 4) layer 223. Alternatively, in another embodiment,the dynamic array may include less than four metal layers.

The dynamic array is defined such that layers (other than the diffusionregion layer 203) are restricted with regard to layout feature shapesthat can be defined therein. Specifically, in each layer other than thediffusion region layer 203, only linear-shaped layout features areallowed. A linear-shaped layout feature in a given layer ischaracterized as having a consistent vertical cross-section shape andextending in a single direction over the substrate. Thus, thelinear-shaped layout features define structures that areone-dimensionally varying. The diffusion regions 203 are not required tobe one-dimensionally varying, although they are allowed to be ifnecessary. Specifically, the diffusion regions 203 within the substratecan be defined to have any two-dimensionally varying shape with respectto a plane coincident with a top surface of the substrate. In oneembodiment, the number of diffusion bend topologies is limited such thatthe interaction between the bend in diffusion and the conductivematerial, e.g., polysilicon, that forms the gate electrode of thetransistor is predictable and can be accurately modeled. Thelinear-shaped layout features in a given layer are positioned to beparallel with respect to each other. Thus, the linear-shaped layoutfeatures in a given layer extend in a common direction over thesubstrate and parallel with the substrate. The specific configurationsand associated requirements of the linear-shaped features in the variouslayers 207-223 are discussed further with regard to FIGS. 3-15C.

The underlying layout methodology of the dynamic array uses constructivelight interference of light waves in the lithographic process toreinforce exposure of neighboring shapes in a given layer. Therefore,the spacing of the parallel, linear-shaped layout features in a givenlayer is designed around the constructive light interference of thestanding light waves such that lithographic correction (e.g., OPC/RET)is minimized or eliminated. Thus, in contrast to conventionalOPC/RET-based lithographic processes, the dynamic array defined hereinexploits the light interaction between neighboring features, rather thanattempting to compensate for the light interaction between neighboringfeatures.

Because the standing light wave for a given linear-shaped layout featurecan be accurately modeled, it is possible to predict how the standinglight waves associated with the neighboring linear-shaped layoutfeatures disposed in parallel in a given layer will interact. Therefore,it is possible to predict how the standing light wave used to expose onelinear-shaped feature will contribute to the exposure of its neighboringlinear-shaped features. Prediction of the light interaction betweenneighboring linear-shaped features enables the identification of anoptimum feature-to-feature spacing such that light used to render agiven shape will reinforce its neighboring shapes. Thefeature-to-feature spacing in a given layer is defined as the featurepitch, wherein the pitch is the center-to-center separation distancebetween adjacent linear-shaped features in a given layer.

To provide the desired exposure reinforcement between neighboringfeatures, the linear-shaped layout features in a given layer are spacedsuch that constructive and destructive interference of the light fromneighboring features will be optimized to produce the best rendering ofall features in the neighborhood. The feature-to-feature spacing in agiven layer is proportional to the wavelength of the light used toexpose the features. The light used to expose each feature within abouta five light wavelength distance from a given feature will serve toenhance the exposure of the given feature to some extent. Theexploitation of constructive interference of the standing light wavesused to expose neighboring features enables the manufacturing equipmentcapability to be maximized and not be limited by concerns regardinglight interactions during the lithography process.

As discussed above, the dynamic array incorporates a restricted topologyin which the features within each layer (other than diffusion) arerequired to be linear-shaped features that are oriented in a parallelmanner to traverse over the substrate in a common direction. With therestricted topology of the dynamic array, the light interaction in thephotolithography process can be optimized such that the printed image onthe mask is essentially identical to the drawn shape in the layout,i.e., essentially a 100% accurate transfer of the layout onto the resistis achieved.

FIG. 3A is an illustration showing an exemplary base grid to beprojected onto the dynamic array to facilitate definition of therestricted topology, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. The base grid can be used to facilitate parallel placement ofthe linear-shaped features in each layer of the dynamic array at theappropriate optimized pitch. Although not physically defined as part ofthe dynamic array, the base grid can be considered as a projection oneach layer of the dynamic array. Also, it should be understood that thebase grid is projected in a substantially consistent manner with respectto position on each layer of the dynamic array, thus facilitatingaccurate feature stacking and alignment.

In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3A, the base grid is defined as arectangular grid, i.e., Cartesian grid, in accordance with a firstreference direction (x) and a second reference direction (y). Thegridpoint-to-gridpoint spacing in the first and second referencedirections can be defined as necessary to enable definition of thelinear-shaped features at the optimized feature-to-feature spacing.Also, the gridpoint spacing in the first reference direction (x) can bedifferent than the gridpoint spacing in the second reference direction(y). In one embodiment, a single base grid is projected across theentire die to enable location of the various linear-shaped features ineach layer across the entire die. However, in other embodiments,separate base grids can be projected across separate regions of the dieto support different feature-to-feature spacing requirements within theseparate regions of the die. FIG. 3B is an illustration showing separatebase grids projected across separate regions of the die, in accordancewith an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The base grid is defined with consideration for the light interactionfunction, i.e., the sinc function, and the manufacturing capability,wherein the manufacturing capability is defined by the manufacturingequipment and processes to be utilized in fabricating the dynamic array.With regard to the light interaction function, the base grid is definedsuch that the spacing between gridpoints enables alignment of peaks inthe sinc functions describing the light energy projected uponneighboring gridpoints. Therefore, linear-shaped features optimized forlithographic reinforcement can be specified by drawing a line from afirst gridpoint to a second gridpoint, wherein the line represents arectangular structure of a given width. It should be appreciated thatthe various linear-shaped features in each layer can be specifiedaccording to their endpoint locations on the base grid and their width.

FIG. 3C is an illustration showing an exemplary linear-shaped feature301 defined to be compatible with the dynamic array, in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention. The linear-shaped feature 301has a substantially rectangular cross-section defined by a width 303 anda height 307. The linear-shaped feature 301 extends in a lineardirection to a length 305. In one embodiment, a cross-section of thelinear-shaped feature, as defined by its width 303 and height 307, issubstantially uniform along its length 305. It should be understood,however, that lithographic effects may cause a rounding of the ends ofthe linear-shaped feature 301. The first and second reference directions(x) and (y), respectively, of FIG. 3A are shown to illustrate anexemplary orientation of the linear-shaped feature on the dynamic array.It should be appreciated that the linear-shaped feature may be orientedto have its length 305 extend in either the first reference direction(x), the second reference direction (y), or in diagonal directiondefined relative to the first and second reference directions (x) and(y). Regardless of the linear-shaped features' particular orientationwith respect to the first and second reference directions (x) and (y),it should be understood that the linear-shaped feature is defined in aplane that is substantially parallel to a top surface of the substrateupon which the dynamic array is built. Also, it should be understoodthat the linear-shaped feature is free of bends, i.e., change indirection, in the plane defined by the first and second referencedirections.

FIG. 3D is an illustration showing another exemplary linear-shapedfeature 317 defined to be compatible with the dynamic array, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Thelinear-shaped feature 317 has a trapezoidal cross-section defined by alower width 313, an upper width 315, and a height 309. The linear-shapedfeature 317 extends in a linear direction to a length 311. In oneembodiment, the cross-section of the linear-shaped feature 317 issubstantially uniform along its length 311. It should be understood,however, that lithographic effects may cause a rounding of the ends ofthe linear-shaped feature 317. The first and second reference directions(x) and (y), respectively, of FIG. 3A are shown to illustrate anexemplary orientation of the linear-shaped feature on the dynamic array.It should be appreciated that the linear-shaped feature 317 may beoriented to have its length 311 extend in either the first referencedirection (x), the second reference direction (y), or in diagonaldirection defined relative to the first and second reference directions(x) and (y). Regardless of the particular orientation of thelinear-shaped feature 317 with regard to the first and second referencedirections (x) and (y), it should be understood that the linear-shapedfeature 317 is defined in a plane that is substantially parallel to atop surface of the substrate upon which the dynamic array is built.Also, it should be understood that the linear-shaped feature 317 is freeof bends, i.e., change in direction, in the plane defined by the firstand second reference directions.

Although FIGS. 3C and 3D explicitly discuss linear shaped featureshaving rectangular and trapezoidal cross-sections, respectively, itshould be understood that the linear shaped features having other typesof cross-sections can be defined within the dynamic array. Therefore,essentially any suitable cross-sectional shape of the linear-shapedfeature can be utilized so long as the linear-shaped feature is definedto have a length that extends in one direction, and is oriented to haveits length extend in either the first reference direction (x), thesecond reference direction (y), or in diagonal direction definedrelative to the first and second reference directions (x) and (y).

The layout architecture of the dynamic array follows the base gridpattern. Thus, it is possible to use grid points to represent wherechanges in direction occur in diffusion, wherein gate electrode andmetal linear-shaped features are placed, where contacts are placed,where opens are in the linear-shaped gate electrode and metal features,etc. The pitch of the gridpoints, i.e., the gridpoint-to-gridpointspacing, should be set for a given feature line width, e.g., width 303in FIG. 3C, such that exposure of neighboring linear-shaped features ofthe given feature line width will reinforce each other, wherein thelinear-shaped features are centered on gridpoints. With reference to thedynamic array stack of FIG. 2 and the exemplary base grid of FIG. 3A, inone embodiment, the gridpoint spacing in the first reference direction(x) is set by the required gate electrode gate pitch. In this sameembodiment, the gridpoint pitch in the second reference direction (y) isset by the metal 1 and metal 3 pitch. For example, in a 90 nm processtechnology, i.e., minimum feature size equal to 90 nm, the gridpointpitch in the second reference direction (y) is about 0.24 micron. In oneembodiment, metal 1 and metal 2 layers will have a common spacing andpitch. A different spacing and pitch may be used above the metal 2layer.

The various layers of the dynamic array are defined such that thelinear-shaped features in adjacent layers extend in a crosswise mannerwith respect to each other. For example, the linear-shaped features ofadjacent layers may extend orthogonally, i.e., perpendicularly withrespect to each other. Also, the linear-shaped features of one layer mayextend across the linear-shaped features of an adjacent layer at anangle, e.g., at about 45 degrees. For example, in one embodiment thelinear-shaped feature of one layer extend in the first referencedirection (x) and the linear-shaped features of the adjacent layerextend diagonally with respect to the first (x) and second (y) referencedirections. It should be appreciated that to route a design in thedynamic array having the linear-shaped features positioned in thecrosswise manner in adjacent layers, opens can be defined in thelinear-shaped features, and contacts and vias can be defined asnecessary.

The dynamic array minimizes the use of bends in layout shapes toeliminate unpredictable lithographic interactions. Specifically, priorto OPC or other RET processing, the dynamic array allows bends in thediffusion layer to enable control of device sizes, but does not allowbends in layers above the diffusion layer. The layout features in eachlayer above the diffusion layer are linear in shape, e.g., FIG. 3C, anddisposed in a parallel relationship with respect to each other. Thelinear shapes and parallel positioning of layout features areimplemented in each stack layer of the dynamic array wherepredictability of constructive light interference is necessary to ensuremanufacturability. In one embodiment, the linear shapes and parallelpositioning of layout features are implemented in the dynamic array ineach layer above diffusion through metal 2. Above metal 2, the layoutfeatures may be of sufficient size and shape that constructive lightinterference is not required to ensure manufacturability. However, thepresence of constructive light interference in patterning layoutfeatures above metal 2 may be beneficial.

An exemplary buildup of dynamic array layers from diffusion throughmetal 2 are described with respect to FIGS. 4 through 14. It should beappreciated that the dynamic array described with respect to FIGS. 4through 14 is provided by way of example only, and is not intended toconvey limitations of the dynamic array architecture. The dynamic arraycan be used in accordance with the principles presented herein to defineessentially any integrated circuit design.

FIG. 4 is an illustration showing a diffusion layer layout of anexemplary dynamic array, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. The diffusion layer of FIG. 4 shows a p-diffusionregion 401 and an n-diffusion region 403. While the diffusion regionsare defined according to the underlying base grid, the diffusion regionsare not subject to the linear-shaped feature restrictions associatedwith the layers above the diffusion layer. The diffusion regions 401 and403 include diffusion squares 405 defined where diffusion contacts willbe located. The diffusion regions 401 and 403 do not include extraneousjogs or corners, thus improving the use of lithographic resolution andenabling more accurate device extraction. Additionally, n+ mask regions(412 and 416) and p+ mask regions (410 and 414) are defined asrectangles on the (x), (y) grid with no extraneous jogs or notches. Thisstyle permits use of larger diffusion regions, eliminates need forOPC/RET, and enables use of lower resolution and lower cost lithographicsystems, e.g., i-line illumination at 365 nm. It should be appreciatedthat the n+ mask region 416 and the p+ mask region 410, as depicted inFIG. 4, are for an embodiment that does not employ well-biasing. In analternative embodiment where well-biasing is to be used, the n+ maskregion 416 shown in FIG. 4 will actually be defined as a p+ mask region.Also, in this alternative embodiment, the p+ mask region 410 shown inFIG. 4 will actually be defined as a n+ mask region.

FIG. 5 is an illustration showing a gate electrode layer and a diffusioncontact layer above and adjacent to the diffusion layer of FIG. 4, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As thoseskilled in the CMOS arts will appreciate, the gate electrode features501 define the transistor gates. The gate electrode features 501 aredefined as linear shaped features extending in a parallel relationshipacross the dynamic array in the second reference direction (y). In oneembodiment, the gate electrode features 501 are defined to have a commonwidth. However, in another embodiment, one or more of the gate electrodefeatures can be defined to have a different width. For example, FIG. 5shows a gate electrode features 501A that has a larger width relative tothe other gate electrode features 501. The pitch (center-to-centerspacing) of the gate electrode features 501 is minimized while ensuringoptimization of lithographic reinforcement, i.e., resonant imaging,provided by neighboring gate electrode features 501. For discussionpurposes, gate electrode features 501 extending across the dynamic arrayin a given line are referred to as a gate electrode track.

The gate electrode features 501 form n-channel and p-channel transistorsas they cross the diffusion regions 403 and 401, respectively. Optimalgate electrode feature 501 printing is achieved by drawing gateelectrode features 501 at every grid location, even though no diffusionregion may be present at some grid locations. Also, long continuous gateelectrode features 501 tend to improve line end shortening effects atthe ends of gate electrode features within the interior of the dynamicarray. Additionally, gate electrode printing is significantly improvedwhen all bends are removed from the gate electrode features 501.

Each of the gate electrode tracks may be interrupted, i.e., broken, anynumber of times in linearly traversing across the dynamic array in orderto provide required electrical connectivity for a particular logicfunction to be implemented. When a given gate electrode track isrequired to be interrupted, the separation between ends of the gateelectrode track segments at the point of interruption is minimized tothe extent possible taking into consideration the manufacturingcapability and electrical effects. In one embodiment, optimalmanufacturability is achieved when a common end-to-end spacing is usedbetween features within a particular layer.

Minimizing the separation between ends of the gate electrode tracksegments at the points of interruption serves to maximize thelithographic reinforcement, and uniformity thereof, provided fromneighboring gate electrode tracks. Also, in one embodiment, if adjacentgate electrode tracks need to be interrupted, the interruptions of theadjacent gate electrode tracks are made such that the respective pointsof interruption are offset from each other so as to avoid, to the extentpossible, an occurrence of neighboring points of interruption. Morespecifically, points of interruption within adjacent gate electrodetracks are respectively positioned such that a line of sight does notexist through the points of interruption, wherein the line of sight isconsidered to extend perpendicularly to the direction in which the gateelectrode tracks extend over the substrate. Additionally, in oneembodiment, the gate electrodes may extend through the boundaries at thetop and bottom of the cells, i.e., the PMOS or NMOS cells. Thisembodiment would enable bridging of neighboring cells.

With further regard to FIG. 5, diffusion contacts 503 are defined ateach diffusion square 405 to enhance the printing of diffusion contactsvia resonant imaging. The diffusion squares 405 are present around everydiffusion contact 503 to enhance the printing of the power and groundconnection polygons at the diffusion contacts 503.

The gate electrode features 501 and diffusion contacts 503 share acommon grid spacing. More specifically, the gate electrode feature 501placement is offset by one-half the grid spacing relative to thediffusion contacts 503. For example, if the gate electrode features 501and diffusion contact 503 grid spacing is 0.36 μm, then the diffusioncontacts are placed such that the x-coordinate of their center falls onan integer multiple of 0.36 μm, while the x-coordinate of the center ofeach gate electrode feature 501 minus 0.18 μm should be an integermultiple of 0.36 μm. In the present example, the x-coordinates arerepresented by the following:

Diffusion contact center x-coordinate=I*0.36 μm, where I is the gridnumber;

Gate electrode feature center x-coordinate=0.18 μm+I*0.36 μm, where I isthe grid number.

The grid based system of the dynamic array ensures that all contacts(diffusion and gate electrode) will land on a horizontal grid that isequal to a multiple of one-half of the diffusion contact grid and avertical grid that is set by the metal 1 pitch. In the example above,the gate electrode feature and diffusion contact grid is 0.36 μm. Thediffusion contacts and gate electrode contacts will land on a horizontalgrid that is a multiple of 0.18 μm. Also, the vertical grid for 90 nmprocess technologies is about 0.24 μm.

FIG. 6 is an illustration showing a gate electrode contact layer definedabove and adjacent to the gate electrode layer of FIG. 5, in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention. In the gate electrodecontact layer, gate electrode contacts 601 are drawn to enableconnection of the gate electrode features 501 to the overlying metalconduction lines. In general, design rules will dictate the optimumplacement of the gate electrode contacts 601. In one embodiment, thegate electrode contacts are drawn on top of the transistor endcapregions. This embodiment minimizes white space in the dynamic array whendesign rules specify long transistor endcaps. In some processtechnologies white space may be minimized by placing a number of gateelectrode contacts for a cell in the center of the cell. Also, it shouldbe appreciated that in the present invention, the gate electrode contact601 is oversized in the direction perpendicular to the gate electrodefeature 501 to ensure overlap between the gate electrode contact 601 andthe gate electrode feature 501.

FIG. 7A is an illustration showing a traditional approach for makingcontact to a gate electrode, e.g., polysilicon feature. In thetraditional configuration of FIG. 7A, an enlarged rectangular gateelectrode region 707 is defined where a gate electrode contact 709 is tobe located. The enlarged rectangular gate electrode region 707introduces a bend of distance 705 in the gate electrode. The bendassociated with the enlarged rectangular gate electrode region 707 setsup undesirable light interactions and distorts the gate electrode line711. Distortion of the gate electrode line 711 is especially problematicwhen the gate electrode width is about the same as a transistor length.

FIG. 7B is an illustration showing a gate electrode contact 601, e.g.,polysilicon contact, defined in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. The gate electrode contact 601 is drawn to overlapthe edges of the gate electrode feature 501, and extend in a directionsubstantially perpendicular to the gate electrode feature 501. In oneembodiment, the gate electrode contact 601 is drawn such that thevertical dimension 703 is same as the vertical dimension used for thediffusion contacts 503. For example, if the diffusion contact 503opening is specified to be 0.12 μm square then the vertical dimension ofthe gate electrode contact 601 is drawn at 0.12 μm. However, in otherembodiments, the gate electrode contact 601 can be drawn such that thevertical dimension 703 is different from the vertical dimension used forthe diffusion contacts 503.

In one embodiment, the gate electrode contact 601 extension 701 beyondthe gate electrode feature 501 is set such that maximum overlap isachieved between the gate electrode contact 601 and the gate electrodefeature 501. The extension 701 is defined to accommodate line endshortening of the gate electrode contact 601, and misalignment betweenthe gate electrode contact layer and gate electrode feature layer. Thelength of the gate electrode contact 601 is defined to ensure maximumsurface area contact between the gate electrode contact 601 and the gateelectrode feature 501, wherein the maximum surface area contact isdefined by the width of the gate electrode feature 501.

FIG. 8A is an illustration showing a metal 1 layer defined above thegate electrode contact layer of FIG. 6, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. The metal 1 layer includes a numberof metal 1 tracks 801-821 defined to include linear shaped featuresextending in a parallel relationship across the dynamic array. The metal1 tracks 801-821 extend in a direction substantially perpendicular tothe gate electrode features 501 in the underlying gate electrode layerof FIG. 5. Thus, in the present example, the metal 1 tracks 801-821extend linearly across the dynamic array in the first referencedirection (x). The pitch (center-to-center spacing) of the metal 1tracks 801-821 is minimized while ensuring optimization of lithographicreinforcement, i.e., resonant imaging, provided by neighboring metal 1tracks 801-821. For example, in one embodiment, the metal 1 tracks801-821 are centered on a vertical grid of about 0.24 μm for a 90 nmprocess technology.

Each of the metal 1 tracks 801-821 may be interrupted, i.e., broken, anynumber of times in linearly traversing across the dynamic array in orderto provide required electrical connectivity for a particular logicfunction to be implemented. When a given metal 1 track 801-821 isrequired to be interrupted, the separation between ends of the metal 1track segments at the point of interruption is minimized to the extentpossible taking into consideration manufacturing capability andelectrical effects. Minimizing the separation between ends of the metal1 track segments at the points of interruption serves to maximize thelithographic reinforcement, and uniformity thereof, provided fromneighboring metal 1 tracks. Also, in one embodiment, if adjacent metal 1tracks need to be interrupted, the interruptions of the adjacent metal 1tracks are made such that the respective points of interruption areoffset from each other so as to avoid, to the extent possible, anoccurrence of neighboring points of interruption. More specifically,points of interruption within adjacent metal 1 tracks are respectivelypositioned such that a line of sight does not exist through the pointsof interruption, wherein the line of sight is considered to extendperpendicularly to the direction in which the metal 1 tracks extend overthe substrate.

In the example of FIG. 8A, the metal 1 track 801 is connected to theground supply, and the metal 1 track 821 is connected to the powersupply voltage. In the embodiment of FIG. 8A, the widths of the metal 1tracks 801 and 821 are the same as the other metal 1 tracks 803-819.However, in another embodiment, the widths of metal 1 tracks 801 and 821are larger than the widths of the other metal 1 tracks 803-819. FIG. 8Bis an illustration showing the metal 1 layer of FIG. 8A with largertrack widths for the metal 1 ground and power tracks (801A and 821A),relative to the other metal 1 tracks 803-819.

The metal 1 track pattern is optimally configured to optimize the use of“white space” (space not occupied by transistors). The example of FIG.8A includes the two shared metal 1 power tracks 801 and 821, and ninemetal 1 signal tracks 803-819. Metal 1 tracks 803, 809, 811, and 819 aredefined as gate electrode contact tracks in order to minimize whitespace. Metal 1 tracks 805 and 807 are defined to connect to n-channeltransistor source and drains. Metal 1 tracks 813, 815, and 817 aredefined to connect to p-channel source and drains. Also, any of the ninemetal 1 signal tracks 803-819 can be used as a feed through if noconnection is required. For example, metal 1 tracks 813 and 815 areconfigured as feed through connections.

FIG. 9 is an illustration showing a via 1 layer defined above andadjacent to the metal 1 layer of FIG. 8A, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. Vias 901 are defined in the via 1layer to enable connection of the metal 1 tracks 801-821 to higher levelconduction lines.

FIG. 10 is an illustration showing a metal 2 layer defined above andadjacent to the via 1 layer of FIG. 9, in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention. The metal 2 layer includes a number of metal 2tracks 1001 defined as linear shaped features extending in a parallelrelationship across the dynamic array. The metal 2 tracks 1001 extend ina direction substantially perpendicular to the metal 1 tracks 801-821 inthe underlying metal 1 layer of FIG. 8A, and in a directionsubstantially parallel to the gate electrode tracks 501 in theunderlying gate electrode layer of FIG. 5. Thus, in the present example,the metal 2 tracks 1001 extend linearly across the dynamic array in thesecond reference direction (y).

The pitch (center-to-center spacing) of the metal 2 tracks 1001 isminimized while ensuring optimization of lithographic reinforcement,i.e., resonant imaging, provided by neighboring metal 2 tracks. Itshould be appreciated that regularity can be maintained on higher levelinterconnect layers in the same manner as implemented in the gateelectrode and metal 1 layers. In one embodiment, the gate electrodefeature 501 pitch and the metal 2 track pitch is the same. In anotherembodiment, the contacted gate electrode pitch (e.g.,polysilicon-to-polysilicon space with a diffusion contact in between) isgreater than the metal 2 track pitch. In this embodiment, the metal 2track pitch is optimally set to be ⅔ or ¾ of the contacted gateelectrode pitch. Thus, in this embodiment, the gate electrode track andmetal 2 track align at every two gate electrode track pitches and everythree metal 2 track pitches. For example, in a 90 nm process technology,the optimum contacted gate electrode track pitch is 0.36 μm, and theoptimum metal 2 track pitch is 0.24 μm. In another embodiment, the gateelectrode track and the metal 2 track align at every three gateelectrode pitches and every four metal 2 pitches. For example, in a 90nm process technology, the optimum contacted gate electrode track pitchis 0.36 μm, and the optimum metal 2 track pitch is 0.27 μm.

Each of the metal 2 tracks 1001 may be interrupted, i.e., broken, anynumber of times in linearly traversing across the dynamic array in orderto provide required electrical connectivity for a particular logicfunction to be implemented. When a given metal 2 track 1001 is requiredto be interrupted, the separation between ends of the metal 2 tracksegments at the point of interruption is minimized to the extentpossible taking into consideration manufacturing and electrical effects.Minimizing the separation between ends of the metal 2 track segments atthe points of interruption serves to maximize the lithographicreinforcement, and uniformity thereof, provided from neighboring metal 2tracks. Also, in one embodiment, if adjacent metal 2 tracks need to beinterrupted, the interruptions of the adjacent metal 2 tracks are madesuch that the respective points of interruption are offset from eachother so as to avoid, to the extent possible, an occurrence ofneighboring points of interruption. More specifically, points ofinterruption within adjacent metal 2 tracks are respectively positionedsuch that a line of sight does not exist through the points ofinterruption, wherein the line of sight is considered to extendperpendicularly to the direction in which the metal 2 tracks extend overthe substrate.

As discussed above, the conduction lines in a given metal layer abovethe gate electrode layer may traverse the dynamic array in a directioncoincident with either the first reference direction (x) or the secondreference direction (y). It should be further appreciated that theconduction lines in a given metal layer above the gate electrode layermay traverse the dynamic array in a diagonal direction relative to thefirst and second reference directions (x) and (y). FIG. 11 is anillustration showing conductor tracks 1101 traversing the dynamic arrayin a first diagonal direction relative to the first and second referencedirections (x) and (y), in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 12 is an illustration showing conductor tracks 1201traversing the dynamic array in a second diagonal direction relative tothe first and second reference directions (x) and (y), in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention.

As with the metal 1 and metal 2 tracks discussed above, the diagonaltraversing conductor tracks 1101 and 1201 of FIGS. 11 and 12 may beinterrupted, i.e., broken, any number of times in linearly traversingacross the dynamic array in order to provide required electricalconnectivity for a particular logic function to be implemented. When agiven diagonal traversing conductor track is required to be interrupted,the separation between ends of the diagonal conductor track at the pointof interruption is minimized to the extent possible taking intoconsideration manufacturing and electrical effects. Minimizing theseparation between ends of the diagonal conductor track at the points ofinterruption serves to maximize the lithographic reinforcement, anduniformity thereof, provided from neighboring diagonal conductor tracks.

An optimal layout density within the dynamic array is achieved byimplementing the following design rules:

at least two metal 1 tracks be provided across the n-channel devicearea;

at least two metal 1 tracks be provided across the p-channel devicearea;

at least two gate electrode tracks be provided for the n-channel device;and

at least two gate electrode tracks be provided for the p-channel device.

Contacts and vias are becoming the most difficult mask from alithographic point of view. This is because the contacts and vias aregetting smaller, more closely spaced, and are randomly distributed. Thespacing and density of the cuts (contact or vias) makes it extremelydifficult to reliably print the shapes. For example, cut shapes may beprinted improperly due to destructive interference patterns fromneighboring shapes or lack of energy on lone shapes. If a cut isproperly printed, the manufacturing yield of the associated contact orvia is extremely high. Sub-resolution contacts can be provided toreinforce the exposure of the actual contacts, so long as thesub-resolution contacts do not resolve. Also, the sub-resolutioncontacts can be of any shape so long as they are smaller than theresolution capability of the lithographic process.

FIG. 13A is an illustration showing an example of a sub-resolutioncontact layout used to lithographically reinforce diffusion contacts andgate electrode contacts, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. Sub-resolution contacts 1301 are drawn such that theyare below the resolution of the lithographic system and will not beprinted. The function of the sub-resolution contacts 1301 is to increasethe light energy at the desired contact locations, e.g., 503, 601,through resonant imaging. In one embodiment, sub-resolution contacts1301 are placed on a grid such that both gate electrode contacts 601 anddiffusion contacts 503 are lithographically reinforced. For example,sub-resolution contacts 1301 are placed on a grid that is equal toone-half the diffusion contact 503 grid spacing to positively impactboth gate electrode contacts 601 and diffusion contacts 503. In oneembodiment, a vertical spacing of the sub-resolution contacts 1301follows the vertical spacing of the gate electrode contacts 601 anddiffusion contacts 503.

Grid location 1303 in FIG. 13A denotes a location between adjacent gateelectrode contacts 601. Depending upon the lithographic parameters inthe manufacturing process, it is possible that a sub-resolution contact1301 at this grid location would create an undesirable bridge betweenthe two adjacent gate electrode contacts 601. If bridging is likely tooccur, a sub-resolution contact 1301 at location 1303 can be omitted.Although FIG. 13A shows an embodiment where sub-resolution contacts areplaced adjacent to actual features to be resolved and not elsewhere, itshould be understood that another embodiment may place a sub-resolutioncontact at each available grid location so as to fill the grid.

FIG. 13B is an illustration showing the sub-resolution contact layout ofFIG. 13A with sub-resolution contacts defined to fill the grid to theextent possible, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. It should be appreciated that while the embodiment of FIG.13B fills the grid to the extent possible with sub-resolution contacts,placement of sub-resolution contacts is avoided at locations that wouldpotentially cause undesirable bridging between adjacent fully resolvedfeatures.

FIG. 13C is an illustration showing an example of a sub-resolutioncontact layout utilizing various shaped sub-resolution contacts, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Alternativesub-resolution contact shapes can be utilized so long as thesub-resolution contacts are below the resolution capability of themanufacturing process. FIG. 13C shows the use of “X-shaped”sub-resolution contacts 1305 to focus light energy at the corners of theadjacent contacts. In one embodiment, the ends of the X-shapedsub-resolution contact 1305 are extended to further enhance thedeposition of light energy at the corners of the adjacent contacts.

FIG. 13D is an illustration showing an exemplary implementation ofalternate phase shift masking (APSM) with sub-resolution contacts, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As in FIG. 13A,sub-resolution contacts are utilized to lithographically reinforcediffusion contacts 503 and gate electrode contacts 601. APSM is used toimprove resolution when neighboring shapes create destructiveinterference patterns. The APSM technique modifies the mask so that thephase of light traveling through the mask on neighboring shapes is 180degrees out of phase. This phase shift serves to remove destructiveinterference and allowing for greater contact density. By way ofexample, contacts in FIG. 13D marked with a plus “+” sign representcontacts exposed with light waves of a first phase while contacts markedwith a minus sign “−” represent contacts exposed with light waves thatare shifted in phase by 180 degrees relative to the first phase used forthe “+” sign contacts. It should be appreciated that the APSM techniqueis utilized to ensure that adjacent contacts are separated from eachother.

As feature sizes decrease, semiconductor dies are capable of includingmore gates. As more gates are included, however, the density of theinterconnect layers begins to dictate the die size. This increasingdemand on the interconnect layers drives higher levels of interconnectlayers. However, the stacking of interconnect layers is limited in partby the topology of the underlying layers. For example, as interconnectlayers are built up, islands, ridges, and troughs can occur. Theseislands, ridges, and troughs can cause breaks in the interconnect linesthat cross them.

To mitigate these islands and troughs, the semiconductor manufacturingprocess utilizes a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) procedure tomechanically and chemically polish the surface of the semiconductorwafer such that each subsequent interconnect layer is deposited on asubstantially flat surface. Like the photolithography process thequality of the CMP process is layout pattern dependent. Specifically, anuneven distribution of a layout features across a die or a wafer cancause too much material to be removed in some places and not enoughmaterial to be removed in other places, thus causing variations in theinterconnect thickness and unacceptable variations in the capacitanceand resistance of the interconnect layer. The capacitance and resistancevariation within the interconnect layer may alter the timing of acritical net causing design failure.

The CMP process requires that dummy fill be added in the areas withoutinterconnect shapes so that a substantially uniform wafer topology isprovided to avoid dishing and improve center-to-edge uniformity.Traditionally, dummy fill is placed post-design. Thus, in thetraditional approach the designer is not aware of the dummy fillcharacteristics. Consequently, the dummy fill placed post-design mayadversely influence the design performance in a manner that has not beenevaluated by the designer. Also, because the conventional topology priorto the dummy fill is unconstrained, i.e., non-uniform, the post-designdummy fill will not be uniform and predictable. Therefore, in theconventional process, the capacitive coupling between the dummy fillregions and the neighboring active nets cannot be predicted by thedesigner.

As previously discussed, the dynamic array disclosed herein providesoptimal regularity by maximally filling all interconnect tracks fromgate electrode layer upward. If multiple nets are required in a singleinterconnect track, the interconnect track is split with a minimallyspaced gap. For example, track 809 representing the metal 1 conductionline in FIG. 8A represents three separate nets in the same track, whereeach net corresponds to a particular track segment. More specifically,there are two poly contact nets and a floating net to fill the trackwith minimal spacing between the track segments. The substantiallycomplete filling of tracks maintains the regular pattern that createsresonant images across the dynamic array. Also, the regular architectureof the dynamic array with maximally filled interconnect tracks ensuresthat the dummy fill is placed in a uniform manner across the die.Therefore, the regular architecture of the dynamic array assists the CMPprocess to produce substantially uniform results across the die/wafer.Also, the regular gate pattern of the dynamic array assists with gateetching uniformity (microloading). Additionally, the regulararchitecture of the dynamic array combined with the maximally filledinterconnect tracks allows the designer to analyze the capacitivecoupling effects associated with the maximally filled tracks during thedesign phase and prior to fabrication.

Because the dynamic array sets the size and spacing of the linearlyshaped features, i.e., tracks and contacts, in each mask layer, thedesign of the dynamic array can be optimized for the maximum capabilityof the manufacturing equipment and processes. That is to say, becausethe dynamic array is restricted to the regular architecture for eachlayer above diffusion, the manufacturer is capable of optimizing themanufacturing process for the specific characteristics of the regulararchitecture. It should be appreciated that with the dynamic array, themanufacturer does not have to be concerned with accommodating themanufacture of a widely varying set of arbitrarily-shaped layoutfeatures as is present in conventional unconstrained layouts.

An example of how the capability of manufacturing equipment can beoptimized is provided as follows. Consider that a 90 nm process has ametal 2 pitch of 280 nm. This metal 2 pitch of 280 nm is not set by themaximum capability of equipment. Rather, this metal 2 pitch of 280 nm isset by the lithography of the vias. With the via lithography issuesremoved, the maximum capability of the equipment allows for a metal 2pitch of about 220 nm. Thus, the design rules for metal 2 pitch includeabout 25% margin to account for the light interaction unpredictabilityin the via lithography.

The regular architecture implemented within the dynamic array allows thelight interaction unpredictability in the via lithography to be removed,thus allowing for a reduction in the metal 2 pitch margin. Such areduction in the metal 2 pitch margin allows for a more dense design,i.e., allows for optimization of chip area utilization. Additionally,with the restricted, i.e., regular, topology afforded by the dynamicarray, the margin in the design rules can be reduced. Moreover, not onlycan the excess margin beyond the capability of the process be reduced,the restricted topology afforded by the dynamic array also allows thenumber of required design rules to be substantially reduced. Forexample, a typical design rule set for an unconstrained topology couldhave more than 600 design rules. A design rule set for use with thedynamic array may have about 45 design rules. Therefore, the effortrequired to analyze and verify the design against the design rules isdecreased by more than a factor of ten with the restricted topology ofthe dynamic array.

When dealing with line end-to-line end gaps (i.e., tracksegment-to-track segment gaps) in a given track of a mask layer in thedynamic array, a limited number of light interactions exist. Thislimited number of light interactions can be identified, predicted, andaccurately compensated for ahead of time, dramatically reducing orcompletely eliminating the requirement for OPC/RET. The compensation forlight interactions at line end-to-line end gaps represents alithographic modification of the as-drawn feature, as opposed to acorrection based on modeling of interactions, e.g., OPC/RET, associatedwith the as-drawn feature.

Also, with the dynamic array, changes to the as-drawn layout are onlymade where needed. In contrast, OPC is performed over an entire layoutin a conventional design flow. In one embodiment, a correction model canbe implemented as part of the layout generation for the dynamic array.For example, due to the limited number of possible line end gapinteractions, a router can be programmed to insert a line break havingcharacteristics defined as a function of its surroundings, i.e., as afunction of its particular line end gap light interactions. It should befurther appreciated that the regular architecture of the dynamic arrayallows the line ends to be adjusted by changing vertices rather than byadding vertices. Thus, in contrast with unconstrained topologies thatrely on the OPC process, the dynamic array significantly reduces thecost and risk of mask production. Also, because the line end gapinteractions in the dynamic array can be accurately predicted in thedesign phase, compensation for the predicted line end gap interactionsduring the design phase does not increase risk of design failure.

In conventional unconstrained topologies, designers are required to haveknowledge of the physics associated with the manufacturing process dueto the presence of design dependent failures. With the grid-based systemof the dynamic array as disclosed herein, the logical design can beseparated from the physical design. More specifically, with the regulararchitecture of the dynamic array, the limited number of lightinteractions to be evaluated within the dynamic array, and the designindependent nature of the dynamic array, designs can be representedusing a grid point based netlist, as opposed to a physical netlist.

With the dynamic array, the design is not required to be represented interms of physical information. Rather, the design can be represented asa symbolic layout. Thus, the designer can represent the design from apure logic perspective without having to represent physicalcharacteristics, e.g., sizes, of the design. It should be understoodthat the grid-based netlist, when translated to physical, matches theoptimum design rules exactly for the dynamic array platform. When thegrid-based dynamic array moves to a new technology, e.g., smallertechnology, a grid-based netlist can be moved directly to the newtechnology because there is no physical data in the designrepresentation. In one embodiment, the grid-based dynamic array systemincludes a rules database, a grid-based (symbolic) netlist, and thedynamic array architecture.

It should be appreciated that the grid-based dynamic array eliminatestopology related failures associated with conventional unconstrainedarchitectures. Also, because the manufacturability of the grid-baseddynamic array is design independent, the yield of the design implementedon the dynamic array is independent of the design. Therefore, becausethe validity and yield of the dynamic array is preverified, thegrid-based netlist can be implemented on the dynamic array withpreverified yield performance.

FIG. 14 is an illustration showing a semiconductor chip structure 1400,in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Thesemiconductor chip structure 1400 represents an exemplary portion of asemiconductor chip, including a diffusion region 1401 having a number ofconductive lines 1403A-1403G defined thereover. The diffusion region1401 is defined in a substrate 1405, to define an active region for atleast one transistor device. The diffusion region 1401 can be defined tocover an area of arbitrary shape relative to the substrate 1405 surface.

The conductive lines 1403A-1403G are arranged to extend over thesubstrate 1405 in a common direction 1407. It should also be appreciatedthat each of the number of conductive lines 1403A-1403G are restrictedto extending over the diffusion region 1401 in the common direction1407. In one embodiment, the conductive lines 1403A-1403G definedimmediately over the substrate 1405 are polysilicon lines. In oneembodiment, each of the conductive lines 1403A-1403G is defined to haveessentially the same width 1409 in a direction perpendicular to thecommon direction 1407 of extension. In another embodiment, some of theconductive lines 1403A-1403G are defined to have different widthsrelative to the other conductive lines. However, regardless of the widthof the conductive lines 1403A-1403G, each of the conductive lines1403A-1403G is spaced apart from adjacent conductive lines according toessentially the same center-to-center pitch 1411.

As shown in FIG. 14, some of the conductive lines (1403B-1403E) extendover the diffusion region 1401, and other conductive lines (1403A,1403F, 1403G) extend over non-diffusion portions the substrate 1405. Itshould be appreciated that the conductive lines 1403A-1403G maintaintheir width 1409 and pitch 1411 regardless of whether they are definedover diffusion region 1401 or not. Also, it should be appreciated thatthe conductive lines 1403A-1403G maintain essentially the same length1413 regardless of whether they are defined over diffusion region 1401or not, thereby maximizing lithographic reinforcement between theconductive lines 1403A-1403G across the substrate. In this manner, someof the conductive lines, e.g., 1403D, defined over the diffusion region1401 include a necessary active portion 1415, and one or more uniformityextending portions 1417.

It should be appreciated that the semiconductor chip structure 1400represents a portion of the dynamic array described above with respectto FIGS. 2-13D. Therefore, it should be understood that the uniformityextending portions 1417 of the conductive lines (1403B-1403E) arepresent to provide lithographic reinforcement of neighboring conductivelines 1403A-1403G. Also, although they may not be required for circuitoperation, each of conductive lines 1403A, 1403F, and 1403G are presentto provide lithographic reinforcement of neighboring conductive lines1403A-1403G.

The concept of the necessary active portion 1415 and the uniformityextending portions 1417 also applies to higher level interconnectlayers. As previously described with regard to the dynamic arrayarchitecture, adjacent interconnect layers traverse over the substratein transverse directions, e.g., perpendicular or diagonal directions, toenable routing/connectivity required by the logic device implementedwithin the dynamic array. As with the conductive lines 1403A-1403G, eachof the conductive lines within an interconnect layer may include arequired portion (necessary active portion) to enable requiredrouting/connectivity, and a non-required portion (uniformity extendingportion) to provide lithographic reinforcement to neighboring conductivelines. Also, as with the conductive lines 1403A-1403G, the conductivelines within an interconnect layer extend in a common direction over thesubstrate, have essentially the same width, and are spaced apart fromeach other according to an essentially constant pitch.

In one embodiment, conductive lines within an interconnect layer followessentially the same ratio between line width and line spacing. Forexample, at 90 nm the metal 4 pitch is 280 nm with a line width and linespacing equal to 140 nm. Larger conductive lines can be printed on alarger line pitch if the line width is equal to the line spacing.

The dynamic array architecture as described herein represents asemiconductor device design paradigm in which linear conductive featuresare defined along a virtual grate in each of a plurality of levels. Theplurality of levels are defined above a portion of a semiconductorsubstrate that may have one or more diffusion regions defined therein.The virtual grate of a given level is oriented to be substantiallyperpendicular to the virtual grate in an adjacent level. Also, thelinear conductive features are defined along each line of each virtualgrate so as to be devoid of a substantial change in direction. It shouldbe appreciated that each conductive feature within each of the pluralityof levels is defined by one of the linear conductive features.Therefore, the dynamic array architecture specifically avoids the use ofnon-linear conductive features, wherein a non-linear conductive featureincludes one or more bends within a plane of the associated level.

In one embodiment the plurality of levels of the dynamic arrayarchitecture extends upward from the substrate through the entire chipto the outer packaging of the chip. In another embodiment, the pluralityof levels of the dynamic array architecture extends upward from thesubstrate through a number of levels that is less than the total numberof levels within the entire chip. In this embodiment, the number oflevels defined according to the dynamic array architecture includesthose levels which benefit from or require the high probability ofaccurate manufacturing prediction as afforded by the dynamic arrayarchitecture. For example, the dynamic array architecture may be used todefine each level above the substrate through a third interconnectlevel. Then, due to the increased size and spacing of features and/ordecreased number of features above the third interconnect level, anarbitrary layout technique may be used to define the features above thethird interconnect level. It should be appreciated that any portion of achip that employs the dynamic array architecture in any number of levelsthereof is considered to represent a dynamic array architecture region.

Within a given level defined according to the dynamic arrayarchitecture, proximate ends of adjacent linear conductive features maybe separated from each other by a substantially uniform gap. Morespecifically, adjacent ends of linear conductive features defined alonga common line of a virtual grate are separated by a gap, and such gapswithin the level associated with the virtual grate may be defined tospan a substantially uniform distance. Also, within the dynamic arrayarchitecture, vias and contacts are defined to interconnect a number ofthe linear conductive features in various levels so as to form a numberof functional electronic devices, e.g., transistors, and electroniccircuits. Thus, a number of the linear conductive features in theplurality of levels form functional components of an electronic circuit.Additionally, some of the linear conductive features within theplurality of levels may be non-functional with respect to an electroniccircuit, but are manufactured nonetheless so as to reinforcemanufacturing of neighboring linear conductive features. It should beunderstood that the dynamic array architecture is defined to enableaccurate prediction of semiconductor device manufacturability with ahigh probability.

FIG. 15 is an illustration showing an exemplary chip 1501 implementingthe dynamic array architecture, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. The exemplary chip includes a dynamic arrayarchitecture region 1509. The exemplary chip 1501 also includes a memoryregion 1503, an input/output (I/O) region 1505, and a processor region1507. It should be understood that the memory region 1503, the I/Oregion 1505, and the processor region 1507 are shown by way of exampleand are not intended to represent required portions of a chip, requiredchip architecture, or required accompaniments to the dynamic arrayarchitecture.

It should be also be understood that in one embodiment, such as that ofFIG. 15, the dynamic array architecture can be used to define one ormore portions of a larger chip, i.e., die, wherein the circuitry definedwithin the one or more dynamic array architecture portions is defined tointerface, as necessary, with circuitry in other portions of the chip.In another embodiment, an entire chip can be defined according to thedynamic array architecture. In this embodiment, although the entire chipis defined according to the dynamic array architecture, the chip can bepartitioned into a number of distinct regions, where each distinctregion is defined according to the dynamic array architecture. Inaccordance with the foregoing, a semiconductor chip can be configured toinclude one or more dynamic array architecture regions defined over aportion of the substrate of the chip, wherein each dynamic arrayarchitecture region includes one or more distinct but functionallyinterfaced dynamic array sections.

FIG. 16 is an illustration showing a blank canvas of the dynamic arrayarchitecture region 1509, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. A dynamic array section (DAS) grid 1601 is definedacross the blank canvas of the dynamic array architecture region 1509 tofacilitate placement and alignment of dynamic array sections. The DASgrid 1601 is defined by a virtual network of perpendicular lines1603A/1603B, i.e., gridlines, for locating dynamic array sections (DASs)on the substrate. As previously discussed, the DAS grid 1601 may bedefined on a portion of a die, or over an entire die. The virtualnetwork of perpendicular lines 1603A/1603B that represent the DAS grid1601 are present in effect, although not present as physical entities.The DAS grid 1601 is defined within a plane substantially coincidentwith an upper surface of the substrate upon which the DASs are built.Thus, the DAS grid 1601 is defined within a plane that is parallel witha top surface of the substrate of the chip. The spacing between thelines 1603A/1603B of the DAS grid 1601 in each of the two perpendiculardirections, respectively, can be the same or different. However, in oneembodiment, the lines 1603A/1603B of the DAS grid 1601 having a commondirection are uniformly spaced.

The spacing between adjacent parallel lines (1603A or 1603B) of the DASgrid 1601 is defined as a pitch of the adjacent parallel lines (1603A or1603B). In one embodiment, the pitch of the DAS grid 1601 lines (1603Aor 1603B) that run parallel with gate electrode features is defined tobe equal to one-half of the minimum center-to-center separation betweenadjacent contacted gate electrode features. For ease of discussion,one-half of the minimum center-to-center separation between adjacentcontacted gate electrode features is referred to as the gate electrodehalf-pitch. In the present embodiment, a DAS boundary that is coincidentwith a DAS grid line defined based on the gate electrode half-pitch willitself lie on the gate electrode half-pitch. Therefore, a cell definedwithin and at the edge of such a DAS will have a cell boundary thatfalls on the gate electrode half-pitch.

The dynamic array section (DAS) is defined as a subdivision of dynamicarray architecture in which the features present in each verticallydelineated level of the subdivision are defined with consideration ofother features in the subdivision according to a set of rules, whereinthe rules are established to govern relationships between features in agiven level of the subdivision and between features in separate levelsof the subdivision. A DAS can be defined to occupy a substrate area ofarbitrary shape and size. A DAS can also be defined to occupy an area ofarbitrary shape and size above the substrate. Also, the perpendicularlines 1603A/1603B of the DAS grid 1601 can be used to define DASboundaries.

FIG. 17A is an illustration showing a number of exemplary dynamic arraysections (DAS1-DAS11) defined within the dynamic array architectureregion 1509, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.Each boundary of each DAS (DAS1-DAS11) is defined along on a gridline1603A/1603B of the DAS grid 1601, as described with regard to FIG. 16.It should be appreciated that the uniformity of the DAS grid 1601facilitates placement and functional interfacing of the various DASs.The particular shapes of the exemplary DASs (DAS1-DAS11) are defined fordescriptive purposes and should not be considered limiting with regardto the potential shape of a given DAS. More specifically, a given DAScan be defined to have essentially any shape and size as is necessary todefine the devices and circuitry present within the DAS, so long as theDAS is compliant with the dynamic array architecture.

It should also be understood that a DAS is not required to include thesubstrate portion of the chip, or be defined immediately above and incontact with the substrate portion of the chip. More specifically, a DAScan be vertically defined to occupy a number of layers of the chip overa particular substrate area, but not immediately above and in contactwith the substrate of the chip. In this regard, one embodiment caninclude a number of stacked DASs, wherein each stacked DAS is definedindependently from an adjacent DAS present either thereabove ortherebelow. Also, vertically stacked DASs can be defined to havedifferent sizes and shapes relative to each other. In this regard, ahigher vertically positioned DAS may cover: 1) more than a single lowervertically positioned DAS, or 2) portions of multiple lower verticallypositioned DASs, or 3) a portion of a single lower vertically positionedDAS.

FIG. 17B is an illustration showing a number of dynamic array sections(DAS12-DAS15) defined at a higher vertical position within the dynamicarray architecture region 1509, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. In the example of FIG. 17B, the collection ofDAS12-DAS15 is positioned above the collection of DAS1-DAS11 of FIG.17A. FIG. 17C is an illustration showing a side view of the DAS stack ofFIG. 17B, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Itshould be understood that the DAS arrangement depicted in FIGS. 17A-17Cis provided for discussion purposes, and is not intended to represent aninclusive set of possible DAS arrangements. Also, it should beappreciated that in various embodiments DASs can be horizontally andvertically arranged over a portion of a substrate in essentially anymanner consistent with the dynamic array architecture.

To enable a more detailed description of the dynamic array architecture,an exemplary implementation of the dynamic array architecture withregard to DAS10 of FIG. 17A is described in FIGS. 18-24D. FIG. 18 is anillustration showing a substrate level of DAS10, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. The substrate level of a DAS caninclude any number of diffusion regions. For example, DAS10 includesdiffusion regions 1801A-1801D defined within the substrate portion 1803over which DAS10 is built. The shape of each diffusion region within thesubstrate portion of the DAS is defined based on knowledge of thedevices, i.e., transistors, that are to be formed within the DAS, andbased on knowledge of the higher level linear conductive featurespacings and orientations that are to be utilized. It should beunderstood that the diffusion layer layout as previously described withregard to FIG. 4 is equally applicable to the substrate level of anyDAS, including the DAS10 example. Thus, each diffusion region within agiven DAS can be defined to have an arbitrary two-dimensional shape.However, in one embodiment, the diffusion regions are defined to notinclude extraneous jogs or corners, so as to improve lithographicresolution and enable more accurate device extraction.

Each DAS is defined to have a surrounding DAS manufacturing assurancehalo (DAS halo). For example, in FIG. 18, DAS10 is shown to have a DAShalo 1805. The DAS halo is defined as a region surrounding a given DASwithin a given level of the chip, wherein the manufacture of featureswithin the DAS halo may impact the manufacturing predictability offeatures within the given DAS. The DAS halo is sized and managed toensure that the manufacturing predictability of features within theassociated DAS is preserved or enhanced. Upon placement of the DAS onthe DAS grid, a portion of the associated DAS halo may represent abuffer region devoid of features from a neighboring DAS. Also, uponplacement of the DAS on the DAS grid, a portion of the associated DAShalo may include a portion of a neighboring DAS, wherein the manufactureof features within the portion of the neighboring DAS does not adverselyaffect the manufacture of features within the DAS about which the DAShalo exists, vice-versa. Thus, a DAS halo or portion thereof is allowedto overlap a neighboring DAS halo or encroach within a neighboring DAS,so long as the function of the DAS halo for each of the neighboring DASsis satisfied to ensure that the manufacturing predictability of featureswithin each of the neighboring DASs is preserved or enhanced. The DAShalo is described in more detail with regard to FIGS. 25-27.

A gate electrode level is defined above the substrate level of the DAS10example. The gate electrode level is defined to include a number linearconductive features defined according to a virtual grate associated withthe gate electrode level. A virtual grate of any DAS level, includingthe gate electrode level, is defined as a virtual network of parallellines for locating linear conductive features within a DAS level. Thevirtual network of parallel lines that represent a virtual grate for agiven DAS level are present in effect, although not present as physicalentities. The virtual grate for any DAS level is defined within a planethat is substantially parallel to an upper surface of an underlyingsubstrate upon which the DAS is built. Also, in one embodiment, theparallel lines of the virtual grate for a given DAS level are spacedaccording to a constant pitch. The constant pitch used to defined thevirtual grate for a given DAS level can be set at essentially any valuerequired to facilitate appropriate placement of linear conductivefeatures within the given DAS level.

Generally speaking, in each DAS level, linear conductive features aredefined along the lines of the virtual grate associated with the DASlevel. Each linear conductive feature is defined along a particular lineof a virtual grate such that a centerline of the linear conductivefeature is substantially centered upon the particular line of thevirtual grate. A linear conductive feature is considered to besubstantially centered upon a particular line of a virtual grate when adeviation in alignment between of the centerline of the linearconductive feature and the particular line of the virtual grate issufficiently small so as to not reduce a manufacturing process windowfrom what would be achievable with a true alignment between of thecenterline of the linear conductive feature and the line of the virtualgrate. In one embodiment, the above-mentioned manufacturing processwindow is defined by a lithographic domain of focus and exposure thatyields an acceptable fidelity of the linear conductive feature. In oneembodiment, the fidelity of a linear conductive feature is defined by acharacteristic dimension of the linear conductive feature. Also, itshould be understood that the centerline of a given linear conductivefeature as referenced above is defined as a virtual line that passesthrough the cross-sectional centroid of the linear conductive feature atall points along its length, wherein the cross-sectional centroid of thelinear conductive feature at any given point along its length is thecentroid of its vertical cross-section area at the given point.

It should be appreciated that each linear conductive feature definedwithin a given DAS level will have associated sidewall profilescorresponding to the shape contours of the sidewalls of the linearconductive feature. The sidewalls of the linear conductive feature inthis regard are defined as the sides of the linear conductive featurewhen viewed as a vertical cross-section cut perpendicular to thecenterline of the linear conductive feature. The DAS architectureaccommodates variation in the sidewall profiles of a given linearconductive feature along its length, so long as the sidewall profilevariation is predictable from a manufacturing perspective and does notadversely impact the manufacture of the given linear conductive featureor its neighboring linear conductive features. It should be appreciatedthat sidewall variation along the length of a linear conductive featurewill correspond to width variation along the length of the linearconductive feature. Therefore, the DAS architecture also accommodatesvariation in the width of a given linear conductive feature along itslength, so long as the width variation is predictable from amanufacturing perspective and does not adversely impact the manufactureof the given linear conductive feature or its neighboring linearconductive features.

In additional to the foregoing, it should be understood that each linearconductive feature, or segment thereof, in each level of the dynamicarray architecture is defined to be devoid of a substantial change indirection along its length. Thus, the lack of substantial change indirection of a linear conductive feature is considered relative to theline of the virtual grate along which the linear conductive feature isdefined. In one embodiment, a substantial change in direction of alinear conductive feature exists when the width of the linear conductivefeature at any point thereon changes by more than 50% of the nominalwidth of the linear conductive feature along its entire length. Inanother embodiment, a substantial change in direction of a linearconductive feature exists when the width of the linear conductivefeature changes from any first location on the linear conductive featureto any second location on the linear conductive feature by more that 50%of the linear conductive feature width at the first location.

In the dynamic array architecture, each DAS level can be defined to haveany number of the lines of its virtual grate occupied by any number oflinear conductive features. In one example, a given DAS level may bedefined such that all lines of its virtual grate are occupied by atleast one linear conductive feature. In another example, a given DASlevel may be defined such that some lines of its virtual grate areoccupied by at least one linear conductive feature, and other lines ofits virtual grate are vacant, i.e., not occupied by any number of linearconductive features. Furthermore, in a given DAS level, any number ofsuccessively adjacent virtual grate lines can be left vacant.Additionally, in a given DAS level, any number of successively adjacentvirtual grate lines can be respectively occupied by any number of linearconductive features. Also, in some DAS level instances, the occupancyversus vacancy of the virtual grate lines, with regard the presence oflinear conductive features thereon, may follow a pattern or repeatingpattern across the DAS level.

Additionally, different linear conductive features within a given levelof the DAS can be designed to have the same width or different widths.Also, the widths of a number of linear conductive features defined alongadjacent lines of a given virtual grate can be designed such that thenumber of linear conductive features contact each other so as to form asingle linear conductive feature having a width equal to the sum of thewidths of the number of linear conductive features.

FIG. 19A is an illustration showing a gate electrode level virtual gratefor the DAS10 example, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. The gate electrode level virtual grate is defined by aframework of parallel lines 1901 spaced at a constant pitch P1. The gateelectrode level virtual grate is oriented such that the lines thereofextend in a first direction, i.e., y direction, over the substrateportion 1803 upon which DAS10 is built. The position of the gateelectrode level virtual grate (in a second direction, i.e., x direction)and the associated pitch P1 are established to ensure that lines of thevirtual grate along which linear conductive features are to be definedwill be properly positioned relative to the underlying diffusion regions1801A-1801D such that a number of the linear conductive features definedwithin the gate electrode level can serve as gate electrode componentsof transistor devices.

In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 19A, the pitch P1 of the virtualgrate is equal to a minimum center-to-center spacing to be used betweenadjacent contacted gate electrode features. However, it should beunderstood that in other embodiments, the pitch P1 of the gate electrodelevel virtual grate can be set at essentially any value deemedappropriate for the particular DAS. For example, FIG. 19A1 shows avirtual grate of the gate electrode level set at a pitch P1A equal toone-half of the minimum center-to-center spacing between adjacentcontacted gate electrode features. As previously mentioned, one-half ofthe minimum center-to-center separation between adjacent contacted gateelectrode features is referred to as the gate electrode half-pitch.

In one embodiment, the pitch that defines the virtual grate of the gateelectrode level is set to optimize lithographic reinforcement duringmanufacture of linear conductive features defined along the lines of thevirtual grate. In another embodiment, the pitch that defines the virtualgrate of the gate electrode level is set to optimize a density of thelinear conductive features defined along the lines of the virtual grate.It should be appreciated that optimization of the density of the linearconductive features, as defined along the lines of the virtual grate,may not correspond to feature-to-feature lithographic reinforcementduring manufacturing. Also, in another embodiment, the pitch thatdefines the virtual grate of the gate electrode level can be set basedon optimization of circuit performance, manufacturability, orreliability.

FIG. 19B is an illustration showing full-length linear conductivefeatures 1903 defined along each line 1901 of the gate electrode levelvirtual grate of FIG. 19A, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. It should be understood that while the example ofFIG. 19B shows each line of the gate electrode level virtual grateoccupied by a linear conductive feature, there is no requirement thatevery line of the gate electrode level virtual grate, or any virtualgrate for that matter, be occupied by a linear conductive feature. Itshould be further appreciated that each line of a virtual grate, in anygiven DAS level, represents a potential linear conductive feature trackalong which one or more linear conductive features can be defined. Eachfull-length linear conductive feature 1903 represents a maximum featureoccupancy of a given line 1901 of the virtual grate. However, some ofthe full-length linear conductive features 1903 in the gate electrodelevel may need to be segmented to enable creation of transistor devices.FIG. 19C is an illustration showing a segmentation of the linearconductive features 1903 of FIG. 19B, in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention.

Each linear conductive feature, or segment thereof, in each level of thedynamic array architecture is defined to have a substantially uniformwidth along its length. For example, with regard to the gate electrodelevel of FIG. 19B, each linear conductive feature 1903, or segmentthereof, is defined to have a substantially uniform width W1 along itslength. The width of each linear conductive feature within the dynamicarray architecture is measured in a coplanar and perpendicularrelationship relative to the framework of parallel lines that define thevirtual grate along which the linear conductive feature is defined.Correspondingly, the length of each linear conductive feature within thedynamic array architecture is measured in the direction of the line ofthe virtual grate along which the linear conductive feature is defined.

In one embodiment, such as that shown in FIG. 19B, each linearconductive feature within a given DAS level is defined to have asubstantially equal width. However, in another embodiment, linearconductive features defined along various lines of the virtual gratewithin a given DAS level can be defined to have different widths. Forexample, FIG. 19B1 is an illustration showing linear conductive features1904A, 1904B, 1904C defined along various lines 1902 of the gateelectrode level virtual grate of FIG. 19A1, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 19B1 demonstrates several ofthe previously mentioned options with regard to defining linearconductive features along a virtual grate. In particular, areas 1906 inFIG. 19B1 demonstrate leaving a number of virtual grate lines vacant.FIG. 19B1 also demonstrates how linear conductive features within agiven DAS level can be defined to have different widths, e.g., W1A, W1B,W1C. Areas 1908 in FIG. 19B1 also demonstrate how widths of a number ofadjacent linear conductive features can be defined such that the numberof adjacent linear conductive features combine to form a single linearconductive feature.

As shown in FIG. 19C, the actual layout of the gate electrode level isachieved by segmenting a number of the full-length linear conductivefeatures 1903 of FIG. 19B. Segmentation of full-length linear conductivefeatures in any given DAS level is performed by placing a number of gapsalong its length. For example, in the gate electrode level example ofFIG. 19C a number of gaps of distance G1 are placed along variousfull-length linear conductive features 1903. In various embodiments, thesize of the gaps used to separate adjacent ends of co-aligned linearconductive feature segments may be either uniform or non-uniform acrossa given DAS level. In one embodiment, each gap used to segment thefull-length linear conductive features in a given level of the dynamicarray architecture is defined to be substantially uniform. Thus, in thisembodiment, a substantially uniform gap is maintained between proximateends of adjacent linear conductive feature segments that occupy a commonline in the virtual grate. Also in this embodiment, the substantiallyuniform gap between the proximate ends of adjacent linear conductivefeature segments is maintained within each line in the virtual gratethat is occupied by multiple linear conductive feature segments.

In one embodiment, the size of the gap maintained between proximate endsof adjacent linear conductive features in a given level of the dynamicarray architecture is minimized within electrical performanceconstraints so as to maximize an overall linear conductive featureoccupancy amount of the lines that define the virtual grate of the givenlevel. In another embodiment, size of the gap maintained betweenproximate ends of adjacent linear conductive features in a given levelof the dynamic array architecture is defined to ensure that themanufacturability of the adjacent linear conductive features andneighboring linear conductive features can be accurately predicted. Inanother embodiment, the gaps maintained between proximate ends ofadjacent linear conductive features in a given level of the dynamicarray architecture are placed to avoid adjacent gaps in adjacent linesthat define the virtual grate of the given level. Also, in anotherembodiment, the gaps between proximate ends of adjacent linearconductive feature in a given DAS level are defined for circuitperformance, manufacturability, or reliability purposes.

Upon segmentation of the linear conductive features in a given level ofthe dynamic array architecture, some of the linear conductive featuresegments may represent non-functional linear conductive features. Anon-functional linear conductive feature is defined as a linearconductive feature that is not required for circuit functionality, butis manufactured nonetheless so as to assist with the manufacture ofneighboring linear conductive features. In one embodiment, some of thenon-functional linear conductive features are defined to enhanceprediction of semiconductor chip manufacturability. For example, FIG.19C shows a number of non-functional linear conductive features 1903Band a number of functional linear conductive features 1903A, followingsegmentation of the full-length conductive features 1903 to form thegate electrode level layout of DAS10.

It should be understood that the dynamic array architecture does notstrictly require the retention of all non-functional linear conductivefeature segments, when such retention is not necessary to enhancemanufacturing of neighboring linear conductive feature segments. Forexample, within a given level of the dynamic array architecture, one ormore non-functional linear conductive features that do not positivelyimpact or support the manufacture of adjacent functional linearconductive features can be removed from the layout. For example, FIG.19D is an illustration showing the gate electrode level segmentedfeatures of FIG. 19C with a region 1905 within which a non-functionallinear conductive feature has been eliminated. The eliminatednon-functional linear conductive feature in the example of FIG. 19D wasdeemed unnecessary with regard to supporting the manufacture ofneighboring functional linear conductive features.

Further with regard to FIG. 19C, it should be noted that the linearconductive features 1903 of the gate electrode level are defined to endat a location inside the boundary of the DAS, as identified by location1910. By having each of the linear conductive features of the gateelectrode level end inside the boundary of the DAS, a gap will existbetween colinearly aligned gate electrode level linear conductivefeatures within two adjacent DAS's. In this instance, one half of thegap between the colinearly aligned gate electrode level linearconductive features within the two adjacent DAS's will reside in each ofthe two adjacent DAS's. Also, although not explicitly depicted, isshould be understood that the segmentation and functional versusnon-functional feature concepts of FIGS. 19C and 19D are equallyapplicable to the exemplary embodiments of FIGS. 19A1 and 19B1.

As previously discussed with regard to FIG. 7B, the dynamic arrayarchitecture includes a number of gate electrode contacts defined toelectrically connect the linear conductive features defined to serve asgate electrodes of transistor devices to conductive features defined inone or more layers of the semiconductor chip. Each of the number of gateelectrode contacts is defined to perpendicularly overlap a linearconductive feature defined to serve as a gate electrode of a transistordevice. As shown in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 7B, the gateelectrode contact 601 can be defined to have a rectangular shape. Inanother embodiment, the gate electrode contact can be defined to have asubstantially square shape.

FIG. 20A is an illustration showing a first interconnect level virtualgrate for the DAS10 example, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. The first interconnect level virtual grate is definedby a framework of parallel lines 2001 spaced at a constant pitch P2. Thefirst interconnect level virtual grate is oriented such that the linesthereof extend in a direction (x direction) over the substrate portion1803 upon which DAS10 is built, so as to extend in a directionperpendicular to the virtual grate of the gate electrode level. Theposition of the first interconnect level virtual grate in the ydirection and the associated pitch P2 are established to ensure thatlines of the first interconnect level virtual grate along which linearconductive features are to be defined will be properly positionedrelative to the underlying gate electrode features such that theassociated transistor devices can be interconnected to form a functionalelectronic circuit.

In the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 20A, the pitch P2 of the virtualgrate is equal to a minimum center-to-center spacing to be used betweenadjacent contacted linear conductive features of the first interconnectlevel. However, it should be understood that in other embodiments, thepitch P2 of the first interconnect level virtual grate can be set atessentially any value deemed appropriate for the particular DAS. Forexample, FIG. 20A1 shows a virtual grate of the first interconnect levelset at a pitch P2A equal to one-half of the minimum center-to-centerspacing between adjacent contacted linear conductive features of thefirst interconnect level. For discussion purposes, one-half of theminimum center-to-center spacing between adjacent contacted linearconductive features of the first interconnect level is referred to asthe metal one half-pitch. Also, in the example of FIG. 20A1, the powerrail features are replaced by linear conductive features defined alongthe virtual grate of the first interconnect level, as opposed to beingdefined along power rail virtual lines defined separate from the firstinterconnect level virtual grate.

In one embodiment, the pitch that defines the virtual grate of the firstinterconnect level is set to optimize lithographic reinforcement duringmanufacture of linear conductive features defined along the lines of thevirtual grate. In another embodiment, the pitch P2 that defines thevirtual grate of the first interconnect level is set to optimize adensity of the linear conductive features defined along the lines of thevirtual grate. It should be appreciated that optimization of the densityof the linear conductive features, as defined along the lines of thevirtual grate, may not correspond to feature-to-feature lithographicreinforcement during manufacturing. Also, in another embodiment, thepitch that defines the virtual grate of the first interconnect level canbe set based on optimization of circuit performance, manufacturability,or reliability.

FIG. 20A also shows virtual lines 2003 for power rail placement. Thevirtual lines 2003 are defined in a manner similar to the lines 2001 ofthe first interconnect level virtual grate. Each of the power railvirtual lines 2003 is spaced apart from its neighboring virtual grateline by a distance referred to as the power rail pitch PP1. As with thevirtual grate lines 2001, the power rail virtual lines 2003 are definedto have linear conductive features defined thereon. It should beunderstood that the power rail pitch PP1 is defined independently fromthe pitch P2 of the first interconnect level virtual grate.

In one embodiment, the power rail pitch PP1 is the same as the pitch P2of the first interconnect level virtual grate. For example, when thefirst interconnect level virtual grate pitch P2 is equal to the thirdinterconnect level virtual grate pitch P5, the power rail pitch PP1 maybe equal to the first interconnect level virtual grate pitch P2. Inanother example, when the third interconnect level virtual grate pitchP5 is greater than the first interconnect level virtual grate pitch P2,the power rail pitch PP1 may different than the first interconnect levelvirtual grate pitch P2 to make up for a difference in virtual grate linecount between the first and third interconnect levels, thereby allowingthe first and third interconnect level virtual grates to be aligned atthe boundary of the DAS.

FIG. 20B is an illustration showing full-length linear conductivefeatures 2005 defined along each line 2001 of the first interconnectlevel virtual grate of FIG. 20A, in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention. It should be understood that while the example ofFIG. 20B shows each line of the first interconnect level virtual grateoccupied by a linear conductive feature, there is no requirement thatevery line of the first interconnect level virtual grate, or any virtualgrate for that matter, be occupied by a linear conductive feature. Eachlinear conductive feature 2005, or segment thereof, is defined to have asubstantially uniform width W3 along its length. The first interconnectlevel also includes linear conductive power rail features 2007 definedalong the power rail virtual lines 2003. Each linear conductive powerrail feature 2007 is defined to have a substantially uniform width W2along its length. Within the first interconnect level, each full-lengthlinear conductive feature 2005 represents a maximum feature occupancy ofa given line 2001 of the virtual grate. However, some of the full-lengthlinear conductive features 2005 in the first interconnect level may needto be segmented to enable interconnection of transistor devices andother electronic components (e.g., resistors, diodes, capacitors, etc.)to form a functional electronic circuit.

It should be understood that while the DAS10 example of FIGS. 18-24Dshows the linear conductive features of a given level extending into theDAS halo region, the presence of linear conductive features within theDAS halo region represents the content of the DAS halo region followingplacement of the DAS on the DAS grid. In various embodiments, thespecific content of the DAS halo region may be defined before or afterplacement of the DAS on the DAS grid. This is discussed further withregard to FIGS. 25A-26D-2.

In one embodiment, such as that shown in FIG. 20B, each linearconductive feature within a given DAS level is defined to have asubstantially equal width. However, as previously mentioned, linearconductive features defined along various lines of the virtual gratewithin a given DAS level can be defined to have different widths. Forexample, FIG. 20B1 is an illustration showing linear conductive features2004A, 2004B, 2004C defined along various lines 2002 of the firstinterconnect level virtual grate of FIG. 20A1, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 20B1 demonstrates several ofthe previously mentioned options with regard to defining linearconductive features along a virtual grate. In particular, areas 2006 inFIG. 20B1 demonstrate leaving a number of virtual grate lines vacant.FIG. 20B1 also demonstrates how linear conductive features within agiven DAS level can be defined to have different widths, e.g., W3A, W3B,W3C. Areas 2008 in FIG. 20B1 also demonstrate how widths of a number ofadjacent linear conductive features can be defined such that the numberof adjacent linear conductive features combine to form a single linearconductive feature.

FIG. 20C is an illustration showing a segmentation of the linearconductive features 2005 of FIG. 20B, in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention. As shown in FIG. 20C, the actual layout of thefirst interconnect level is achieved by segmenting a number of thefull-length linear conductive features defined therein. For example, anumber of gaps of distance G2 are placed along various full-lengthlinear conductive features 2005. In one embodiment, each gap of distanceG2 used to segment the full-length linear conductive features in thefirst interconnect level of the dynamic array architecture is defined tobe substantially uniform. In another embodiment, the gaps used tosegment the full-length linear conductive features in the firstinterconnect level can vary in size as necessary to ensuremanufacturability.

With regard to FIG. 20C, it should be understood that segmentation ofthe linear conductive features 2005 can also include removal of aportion of a linear conductive feature 2005 at a location near theboundary of the DAS, as illustrated at locations 2012. In oneembodiment, removal of a portion of a given linear conductive feature2005 at the boundary of the DAS is performed when continuity of thegiven linear conductive feature 2005 from the DAS to a neighboring DASis not desired. In another embodiment, removal of a portion of a givenlinear conductive feature 2005 at the boundary of the DAS is performedto satisfy functional requirements of the circuitry to be defined withinthe DAS. In yet another embodiment, removal of a portion of a givenlinear conductive feature 2005 at the boundary of the DAS is performedto support manufacturability of one or more features within the DAS. Inone embodiment a portion of a given linear conductive feature 2005 isremoved at the boundary of the DAS while leaving a portion of the linearconductive feature 2005 in the DAS halo region, as illustrated atlocations 2012. It should be appreciated that the length of the portionof the linear conductive features 2005 removed at the location near theboundary of the DAS can vary depending on the DAS requirements orDAS-to-DAS interface requirements. However, it should also be understoodthat removal of the portion of the linear conductive feature 2005 at theboundary of the DAS should be done so as to avoid adversely impactingthe manufacturability of neighboring linear conductive features 2005within the DAS.

FIG. 21A is an illustration showing a second interconnect level virtualgrate for the DAS10 example, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. The second interconnect level virtual grate isdefined by a framework of parallel lines 2101 spaced at a constant pitchP3. The second interconnect level virtual grate is oriented such thatthe lines thereof extend in a direction (y direction) over the substrateportion 1803 upon which DAS10 is built, so as to extend in a directionperpendicular to the virtual grate of the first interconnect level.

The position of the second interconnect level virtual grate in the xdirection and the associated pitch P3 are established based upon arelationship between the virtual grates of the gate electrode level andsecond interconnect level. FIG. 21B is an illustration showing thespatial relationship between the second interconnect level and gateelectrode level virtual grates for the DAS10 example, as defined basedon a 3-to-2 pitch relationship between second interconnect level andgate electrode level conductive features, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. The virtual grate of the secondinterconnect level of DAS10 is defined such that the pitch ratio ofsecond interconnect level virtual grate lines 2101 to gate electrodelevel virtual grate lines 1901 is 3-to-2. In this example, the pitch P3of the second interconnect level virtual grate is defined such thatthree pitches of the virtual grate lines 2101 of the second interconnectlevel are provided for every two pitches of the virtual grate lines 1901of the gate electrode level.

It should be appreciated that the 3-to-2 virtual grate pitch ratiobetween the second interconnect level and gate electrode level of thedynamic array architecture is provided as an example for one particularembodiment. In other embodiments a different virtual grate pitch ratiocan be defined between the second interconnect level and gate electrodelevel of the dynamic array architecture. Generally speaking, the virtualgrate pitch ratio between the second interconnect level and the gateelectrode level can be represented by an integer ratio (a/b), where theinteger (a) represents a number of second interconnect level conductivefeature pitches and the integer (b) represents a number of gateelectrode level conductive feature pitches that occur between successivealignments of the second interconnect level and gate electrode levelconductive features. In one embodiment, an attempt is made to set thevirtual grate pitch ratio (a/b) as close to one as possible. In thisembodiment, an alignment pattern between the second interconnect leveland gate electrode level conductive features will repeat at a minimuminterval across the DAS. However, regardless of the particularembodiment, the point to be understood is that a specific spatialrelationship in terms of pitch and alignment exists between the secondinterconnect level virtual grate and the gate electrode level virtualgrate.

FIG. 21C is an illustration showing full-length linear conductivefeatures 2103 defined along each line 2101 of the second interconnectlevel virtual grate, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. It should be understood that while the example of FIG. 21Cshows each line of the second interconnect level virtual grate occupiedby a linear conductive feature, there is no requirement that every lineof the second interconnect level virtual grate, or any virtual grate forthat matter, be occupied by a linear conductive feature. In the exampleof FIG. 21C, each linear conductive feature 2103, or segment thereof, isdefined to have a substantially uniform width W4 along its length.However, it should be understood that in other embodiments the variouslinear conductive features defined across the second interconnect levelof the DAS can be defined to have different widths, with the width of agiven linear conductive feature along its length being substantiallyuniform. Also, within the second interconnect level, each full-lengthlinear conductive feature 2103 represents a maximum feature occupancy ofa given line 2101 of the virtual grate. However, some of the full-lengthlinear conductive features 2103 in the second interconnect level mayneed to be segmented to enable interconnection of transistor devices andother electronic components (e.g., resistors, diodes, capacitors, etc.)to form a functional electronic circuit.

FIG. 21D is an illustration showing a segmentation of the linearconductive features 2103 within the second interconnect level, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 21D, the actual layout of the second interconnect level is achievedby segmenting a number of the full-length linear conductive features2103. For example, a number of gaps of distance G3 are placed alongvarious full-length linear conductive features 2103. In one embodiment,each gap of distance G3 used to segment the full-length linearconductive features in the second interconnect level of the dynamicarray architecture is defined to be substantially uniform. In anotherembodiment, the gaps used to segment the full-length linear conductivefeatures in the second interconnect level can vary in size as necessaryto ensure manufacturability.

FIG. 22A is an illustration showing a second interconnect level virtualgrate for the DAS10 example, as defined based on a 4-to-3 pitchrelationship between second interconnect level and gate electrode levelconductive features, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. The second interconnect level virtual grate in the example ofFIG. 22A is defined by a framework of parallel lines 2201 spaced at aconstant pitch P4. The second interconnect level virtual grate of FIG.22A is oriented such that the lines thereof extend in the directionperpendicular to the virtual grate of the first interconnect level.

The position of the second interconnect level virtual grate in the xdirection and the associated pitch P4 are established based on a 4-to-3pitch relationship between second interconnect level and gate electrodelevel conductive features. FIG. 22B is an illustration showing thespatial relationship between the second interconnect level and gateelectrode level virtual grates for the dynamic array section, as definedbased on a 4-to-3 pitch relationship between second interconnect leveland gate electrode level conductive features, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 22B, the pitch P4of the second interconnect level virtual grate is defined such that fourvirtual grate line pitches of the second interconnect level are providedfor every three virtual grate line pitches of the gate electrode level.

FIG. 22C is an illustration showing full-length linear conductivefeatures 2203 defined along each line 2201 of the second interconnectlevel virtual grate, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. Each linear conductive feature 2203, or segment thereof, isdefined to have a substantially uniform width W5 along its length.Within the second interconnect level, each full-length linear conductivefeature 2203 represents a maximum feature occupancy of a given line 2201of the virtual grate. However, some of the full-length linear conductivefeatures 2203 in the second interconnect level may need to be segmentedto enable interconnection of transistor devices and other electroniccomponents (e.g., resistors, diodes, capacitors, etc.) to form afunctional electronic circuit.

FIG. 22D is an illustration showing a segmentation of the linearconductive features 2203 of FIG. 22C within the second interconnectlevel, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Asshown in FIG. 22D, the actual layout of the second interconnect level isachieved by segmenting a number of the full-length linear conductivefeatures 2203. For example, a number of gaps of distance G4 are placedalong various full-length linear conductive features 2203. In oneembodiment, each gap of distance G4 used to segment the full-lengthlinear conductive features in the second interconnect level of thedynamic array architecture is defined to be substantially uniform. Inanother embodiment, the gaps used to segment the full-length linearconductive features in the second interconnect level can vary in size asnecessary to ensure manufacturability.

FIG. 23 is an illustration showing the second interconnect level of FIG.22D with a number of exemplary via locations 2301 identified thereon, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Within eachDAS, each location at which virtual grate lines cross each other is apotential via location. Therefore, a virtual via grid is defined by thevarious locations at which virtual grate lines of two different DASlevels cross each other, where each of the crossing locations representsa potential via location. For example, the exemplary via locations 2301are defined at locations where virtual grate lines of the secondinterconnect level cross virtual grate lines of the first interconnectlevel. To ensure full seating of a via on the underlying conductivefeature, it is may be necessary to extend the underlying conductivefeature a distance beyond the actual via location. This extensiondistance, i.e., end overlap, of the underlying conductive featureensures that a line-end shortening effect associated with the underlyingconductive feature will not preclude a full seating of the via on theunderlying conductive feature. To illustrate this point the gap G2between the linear conductive features of the first interconnect levelbeneath the exemplary via locations 2301 is positioned so as to allowextension, i.e., end overlap, of each of the linear conductive featuresupon which vias are seated at the exemplary via locations 2301.

FIG. 24A is an illustration showing a third interconnect level virtualgrate for the DAS10 example, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. The third interconnect level virtual grate is definedby a framework of parallel lines 2401 spaced at a constant pitch P5. Thethird interconnect level virtual grate is oriented such that the linesthereof extend in the x direction over the substrate portion 1803 uponwhich DAS10 is built, so as to extend in a direction perpendicular tothe virtual grate of the second interconnect level.

The position of the third interconnect level virtual grate in the ydirection and the associated pitch P5 are established based upon arelationship between the virtual grates of the first interconnect level(see FIGS. 20A through 20C) and third interconnect level. FIG. 24B is anillustration showing a spatial relationship between the thirdinterconnect level and first interconnect level virtual grates for theDAS10 example, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. In one embodiment, the spatial relationship between the thirdinterconnect level and first interconnect level virtual grates of a DASis defined as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{{P\; 5} = {\frac{\left\lbrack {(2)\left( {{PP}\; 1} \right)} \right\rbrack + \left\lbrack {\left( {b - 1} \right)\left( {P\; 2} \right)} \right\rbrack}{\left( {a - 1} \right)}.}} & {{Equation}\mspace{20mu} 1}\end{matrix}$

where P5 is the pitch of the third interconnect level virtual grate, P2is the pitch of the first interconnect level virtual grate, PP1 is thepower rail pitch used in the first interconnect level, (a) is the numberof parallel lines defined within the virtual grate of the thirdinterconnect level, and (b) is the number of parallel lines definedwithin the virtual grate of the first interconnect level not includingthe number of power rail virtual lines of the first interconnect level.In the DAS10 example, (a) is 10 and (b) is 9. Therefore, in the exampleof DAS10, P5 is defined as a function of PP1 and P2 by the following:

P5=( 1/9)[(2*PP1)+(8*P2)].

It should be appreciated that while Equation 1 defines a relationshipbetween the virtual grates of the third and first interconnect levelsfor one DAS embodiment, other DAS embodiments may utilize a differentrelationship between the virtual grates of the third and firstinterconnect levels. Regardless of the particular embodiment, the pointto be understood is that a specific spatial relationship in terms ofpitch and alignment exists between the third interconnect level virtualgrate and the first interconnect level virtual grate.

FIG. 24C is an illustration showing full-length linear conductivefeatures 2403 defined along each line 2401 of the third interconnectlevel virtual grate, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. It should be understood that while the example of FIG. 24Cshows each line of the third interconnect level virtual grate occupiedby a linear conductive feature, there is no requirement that every lineof the third interconnect level virtual grate, or any virtual grate forthat matter, be occupied by a linear conductive feature. Each linearconductive feature 2403, or segment thereof, is defined to have asubstantially uniform width W6 along its length. However, it should beunderstood that in other embodiments the various linear conductivefeatures defined across the third interconnect level of the DAS can bedefined to have different widths, with the width of a given linearconductive feature along its length being substantially uniform. Also,within the third interconnect level, each full-length linear conductivefeature 2403 represents a maximum feature occupancy of a given line 2401of the virtual grate. However, some of the full-length linear conductivefeatures 2403 in the third interconnect level may need to be segmentedto enable interconnection of transistor devices and other electroniccomponents (e.g., resistors, diodes, capacitors, etc.) to form afunctional electronic circuit.

FIG. 24D is an illustration showing a segmentation of the linearconductive features 2403 within the third interconnect level, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. As shown inFIG. 24D, the actual layout of the third interconnect level is achievedby segmenting a number of the full-length linear conductive features2403. For example, a number of gaps of distance G5 are placed alongvarious full-length linear conductive features 2403. In one embodiment,each gap of distance G5 used to segment the full-length linearconductive features in the third interconnect level of the dynamic arrayarchitecture is defined to be substantially uniform. In anotherembodiment, the gaps used to segment the full-length linear conductivefeatures in the third interconnect level can vary in size as necessaryto ensure manufacturability.

With regard to FIGS. 21D, 22D, and 24D, it should be understood thatsegmentation of a given linear conductive feature 2103, 2203, 2403 canalso include removal of a portion of the given linear conductive featureat a location near the boundary of the DAS. In one embodiment, removalof a portion of a given linear conductive feature 2103, 2203, 2403 atthe boundary of the DAS is performed when continuity of the given linearconductive feature from the DAS to a neighboring DAS is not desired. Itshould be appreciated that the length of the portion of the given linearconductive feature 2103, 2203, 2403 removed at the location near theboundary of the DAS can vary depending on DAS-to-DAS interfacerequirements. However, it should also be understood that removal of theportion of the given linear conductive feature 2103, 2203, 2403 at theboundary of the DAS should be done so as to avoid adversely impactingthe manufacturability of neighboring linear conductive features withinthe DAS.

As previously mentioned with regard to FIG. 18, each DAS has anassociated manufacturing assurance halo (DAS halo). Each DAS halo isdefined to facilitate placement of its associated DAS on the DAS grid(see FIG. 17) such that functional features within the associated DASwill be protected from adverse manufacturing impact caused byneighboring DASs, and such that characteristics of the associated DAScan be appropriately considered with regard to their impact on themanufacture of each neighboring DAS. In other words, the DAS halodefines a mechanism by which the proximate placement of a DAS to anotherDAS can be controlled to ensure the manufacturability of each DAS, whileenabling optimization of chip area utilization.

The DAS halo for a given DAS can be segmented to include a number ofcompatibility designations. For example, given the linearcharacteristics of the dynamic array architecture in each level of theDAS, it can be expected that in one embodiment different compatibilitydesignations may be applied to segments of the DAS halo about theboundaries of a given DAS, depending upon whether the particularboundary runs parallel to a first direction of the DAS grid or a seconddirection of the DAS grid (the second direction being perpendicular tothe first direction). Additionally, in one embodiment, each DAS halosegment defined along a boundary of the DAS that runs in the firstdirection of the DAS grid may have a common compatibility designation.Similarly, each DAS halo segment defined along a boundary of the DASthat runs in the second direction of the DAS grid may have a commoncompatibility designation.

FIG. 25A is an illustration showing a number of exemplary DASs(DAS1-DAS11) with their respective boundary compatibility designations(c1-c5), in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.With regard to FIG. 25A, the dashed lines around each DAS (DAS1-DAS11)represents the DAS halo for the DAS. The boundary compatibilitydesignations for each DAS halo are identified by labels c1, c2, c3, c4,or c5. In one embodiment, each boundary segment of a DAS is given aboundary compatibility designation. Thus, by way of the DAS boundarycompatibility designations, the placement of each boundary of each DAScan be considered relative to each boundary of each DAS proximatethereto.

In one embodiment, a number of DASs may be defined to form a DASlibrary. A given DAS library may be defined to include a number of DASsthat form various electronic logic gates, devices, circuits, orcomponents, wherein each DAS in the given DAS library is defined to havesimilar characteristics such that a common DAS boundary compatibilitydesignation can be applied to each DAS in the given DAS library. Also,in this embodiment, a common DAS boundary compatibility designation canbe applied to each boundary of each DAS in the given DAS library thatextends in a common direction. Furthermore, different DAS boundarycompatibility designations can be commonly applied to the given DASlibrary such that each boundary of each DAS that extends in a firstdirection is assigned a first DAS boundary compatibility designation,and each boundary of each DAS that extends in a second direction isassigned a second DAS boundary compatibility designation.

FIG. 25B is an illustration showing an exemplary assembly of the DASs ofFIG. 25A on a DAS grid according to their respective DAS boundarycompatibility designations, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. A DAS cluster is defined as an assembly of DASs onthe DAS grid, wherein each DAS in the assembly of DASs shares at least aportion of one DAS boundary with another DAS in the assembly of DASs. Infollowing, with regard to FIG. 25B, a first DAS cluster is defined byDAS1, DAS3, DAS4, DAS7, DAS8, DAS9, and DAS10. Also, with regard to FIG.25B, a second DAS cluster is defined by DAS3, DAS5, DAS6, and DAS11. Inone embodiment, like DAS boundary compatibility designations forparticular boundaries of separate DASs indicates that the separate DASscan be placed on the DAS grid such that the particular boundariesthereof having like DAS boundary compatibility designations can bealigned in a colinear manner. For example, DAS1 and DAS2 each have anadjacent boundary with a DAS boundary compatibility designation of c2.Therefore, DAS1 and DAS2 can be placed on the DAS grid with respect toeach other such that their adjacent boundaries having the DAS boundarycompatibility designation of c2 are aligned in a colinear manner. Inthis manner other DAS boundaries can be colinearly aligned on the DASgrid, as exemplified by DAS1 and DAS4, DAS1 and DAS7, DAS4 and DAS8,DAS7 and DAS8, DAS7 and DAS9, DAS8 and DAS9, DAS9 and DAS10, DAS3 andDAS5, DAS5 and DAS6, and DAS6 and DAS11.

In one embodiment, different DAS boundary compatibility designations forparticular boundaries of separate DASs indicates that the separate DASsshould be placed on the DAS grid such that the particular boundariesthereof having different DAS boundary compatibility designations areseparated from each other to ensure that the manufacture of the separateDASs does not adversely impact each other. In one embodiment, adjacentboundaries of separate DASs having different DAS boundary compatibilitydesignations are spaced apart from each other such that the DAS haloportions associated with the adjacent boundaries of the separate DASs donot overlap. For example, DAS2 and DAS3 have adjacent boundaries withDAS boundary compatibility designations of c2 and c3, respectively.Therefore, DAS2 and DAS3 are placed on the DAS grid with respect to eachother such that their DAS halo portions associated with their adjacentboundaries do not overlap. In this manner other DAS boundaries havingincompatible DAS boundary designations are separated from each other, asexemplified by DAS41 and DAS5, DAS8 and DAS5, DAS10 and DAS11, DAS3 andDAS6, and DAS5 and DAS11.

It should be understood that although boundaries of separate DASs havinglike DAS boundary compatibility designations can be aligned in acolinear manner on the DAS grid, such colinear alignment is not strictlyrequired. For example, DASs having like DAS boundary compatibilitydesignations on proximate boundaries may be placed on the DAS grid so asto intentionally provide separation between the proximate boundaries.FIG. 25C is an illustration showing an exemplary assembly of the DASs ofFIG. 25A on a DAS grid according to their respective DAS boundarycompatibility designations with intentionally defined empty areas 2501,in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.Specifically, in the example of FIG. 25C, although the DAS boundarycompatibility designations for the upper boundaries of DAS8 and thelower boundaries of DAS4 allow their colinear placement on the DAS grid,DAS8 is placed on the DAS grid so as to be separated from DAS4, therebyforming empty areas 2501. Because chip area is usually at a premium,intentional formation of such empty areas 2501 may not be a commonoccurrence. However, it should be appreciated that the dynamic arrayarchitecture is flexible enough to enable the intentional formation ofsuch empty areas 2501, if necessary.

FIG. 26A-1 is an illustration showing a level of an exemplary DAS 2600,in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Theexemplary DAS 2600 has an associated DAS boundary 2601 and an associatedDAS halo boundary 2603, thereby forming a DAS halo region 2605 outsidethe DAS boundary 2601. A number of linear conductive features 2607 areshown within the level of the DAS 2600. In one embodiment, an initialcontent of a DAS halo region, e.g., DAS halo region 2605, for a givenlevel of a DAS is pre-defined along with the given level of the DASprior to placement of the DAS on the DAS grid. FIG. 26A-2 is anillustration showing the exemplary DAS 2600 with its DAS halo region2605 pre-defined to include a number of reinforcement features 2609. Itshould be understood that the reinforcement features 2609 are shown byway of example, and are not intended to convey a particular requirementwith regard to length, placement, number, or segmentation ofreinforcement features to be defined within a DAS halo region.

FIG. 26B-1 is an illustration showing a level of another exemplary DAS2602, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention. Theexemplary DAS 2602 has an associated DAS boundary 2611 and an associatedDAS halo boundary 2617, thereby forming a DAS halo region 2615 outsidethe DAS boundary 2611. A number of linear conductive features 2613 areshown within the level of the DAS 2602. FIG. 26B-2 is an illustrationshowing the exemplary DAS 2602 with its DAS halo region 2615 pre-definedto include a number of reinforcement features 2619. It should beunderstood that the reinforcement features 2619 are shown by way ofexample, and are not intended to convey a particular requirement withregard to length, placement, number, or segmentation of reinforcementfeatures to be defined within a DAS halo region.

In one embodiment, a number of DASs are placed on a DAS grid along withtheir respective DAS halo region contents to form a DAS cluster. In thisembodiment, the pre-defined content of the DAS halo region for a givenlevel of each DAS is subject to change upon placement of the DAS on theDAS grid. More specifically, upon placement of the given DAS on the DASgrid, a portion of the DAS halo region associated with the given DAS canbe eliminated through occupancy of the location of the portion of theDAS halo region by a neighboring DAS. Additionally, in this embodiment,the pre-defined content of a portion of a DAS halo region is subject tochange depending on the context in which the DAS halo region findsitself upon placement of the DAS on the DAS grid.

FIG. 26C-1 is an illustration showing an exemplary placement of DAS 2600of FIG. 26A-2 and DAS 2602 of FIG. 26B-2 on a DAS grid, in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention. In the embodiment of FIG.26C-1, the pre-defined content of the DAS halo region 2605 is placed onthe DAS grid along with the DAS 2600. Also, in the embodiment of FIG.26C-1, the pre-defined content of the DAS halo region 2615 is placed onthe DAS grid along with the DAS 2602. Each of DASs 2600 and 2602 areplaced on the DAS grid such that the bottom boundary of DAS 2600 and thetop boundary of DAS 2602 are colinearly aligned, wherein the bottomboundary of DAS 2600 and the top boundary of DAS 2602 are referencedrelative to the illustrated orientations of the DASs 2600 and 2602.Thus, the bottom boundary of DAS 2600 and the top boundary of DAS 2602share a common DAS boundary compatibility designation.

Because the central lower portion of the DAS halo region 2605 of DAS2600 is occupied by DAS 2602, the central lower portion of the DAS haloregion 2605 of DAS 2600 is eliminated. Similarly, because the centralupper portion of the DAS halo region 2615 of DAS 2602 is occupied by DAS2600, the central upper portion of the DAS halo region 2615 of DAS 2602is eliminated. Also, upon placement of DASs 2600 and 2602 on the DASgrid, as shown in FIG. 26C-1, a DAS halo overlap region 2621 results.Specifically, in the overlap region 2621, the outer lower portions ofDAS halo region 2605 of DAS 2600 and the outer upper portions of DAShalo region 2615 of DAS 2602 overlap each other.

In one embodiment, placement of multiple DASs on the DAS grid iscontrolled such that the pre-defined content of DAS halo region portionswithin the DAS halo overlap region are compatible so as to not adverselyimpact the manufacturability of features in any of the multiple DASs.For example, with regard to FIG. 26C-1, the content of the DAS haloregion 2605 and the DAS halo region 2615 within the DAS halo overlapregion 2621 actually aligns so as to maintain the original pre-definedcontent of DAS halo regions 2605 and 2615. However, it should beunderstood that the resulting content of a DAS halo overlap region isnot strictly required to maintain the original pre-defined content ofthe respective DAS halo regions involved in the overlap, so long as theresulting content of the DAS halo overlap region does not adverselyimpact the manufacturability of features within a neighboring DAS.

In another embodiment, a number of DASs are placed on a DAS grid withouttheir respective DAS halo region contents to form a DAS cluster. In thisembodiment, the various DASs are placed according to their DAS boundarycompatibility designations without regard to associated DAS halocontents. For example, FIG. 26C-2 is an illustration showing anexemplary placement of DAS 2600 and DAS 2602 on a DAS grid withoutregard to their respective DAS halos, in accordance with one embodimentof the present invention. In the embodiment of FIG. 26C-2, each of DASs2600 and 2602 are placed on the DAS grid such that the bottom boundaryof DAS 2600 and the top boundary of DAS 2602 are colinearly aligned, inaccordance with their common DAS boundary compatibility designation. Theassembly of DAS 2600 and DAS 2602 represents a DAS cluster.

Following placement of the various DASs according to their DAS boundarycompatibility designations to form a DAS cluster, a DAS halo boundarycan be placed around a periphery of the DAS cluster. For example, FIG.26C-3 is an illustration showing the DAS cluster of FIG. 26C-2 having aDAS halo boundary 2625 defined around the periphery of the DAS clusterto form a DAS halo region 2623. The content of the DAS halo region 2623can then be defined as necessary to reinforce/support manufacturabilityof the various features in the DASs that make up the DAS cluster. Forexample, FIG. 26C-4 is an illustration showing the defined content ofthe DAS halo region 2623. A number of reinforcement features 2627 areshown within the DAS halo region 2623. It should be understood that thereinforcement features 2627 are shown by way of example, and are notintended to convey a particular requirement with regard to length,placement, number, or segmentation of reinforcement features to bedefined within a DAS halo region. In another embodiment, all or aportion of a DAS halo region defined around a periphery of the DAScluster can be left empty, if appropriate for the successful manufactureof features within the DASs of the DAS cluster. For example, in thisembodiment, all or a portion of the DAS halo region 2623 may be leftempty, i.e., without reinforcement features 2627.

Once the DASs are placed on the DAS grid, it may be necessary tofunctionally interconnect linear conductive features from one DAS toanother DAS. In one embodiment, a number of DAS interconnection segmentsare defined during a place and route process, wherein each DASinterconnection segment is defined to connect a linear conductivefeature in a given level of a first DAS to a coaligned linear conductivefeature in the given level of a second DAS adjacent to the first DAS.For example, FIG. 26C-5 is an illustration showing the particular levelof the DAS cluster of FIG. 26C-4 having a number of DAS interconnectionsegments 2629 defined therein. It should be understood that the DASinterconnection segments 2629 are shown by way of example, and are notintended to convey a particular requirement with regard to length,placement, or number of DAS interconnection segments to be definedbetween DASs.

FIG. 26D-1 is an illustration showing a flowchart of a method fordefining a dynamic array architecture region of a semiconductor chip, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The methodincludes an operation 2631 for placing a number of DASs with theircorresponding DAS halos on a DAS grid to form a DAS cluster. Whenplacing the number of DASs on the DAS grid, each DAS halo portion thatwould overlie an interior region of another DAS is excluded. Thus, eachlocation on the DAS grid can be occupied by either a DAS interior regionor a DAS halo region, but not both. This concept is previously describedwith regard to FIG. 26C-1. Upon placement of the DASs with theircorresponding DAS halos on the DAS grid, the remaining portions of theDAS halos and their respective contents in a given level of the chip areadopted to form the DAS halo for the DAS cluster in the given level ofthe chip.

The method also includes an operation 2633 for defining necessaryDAS-to-DAS functional interconnections within each level of the DAScluster. The DAS-to-DAS functional interconnections correspond to theDAS interconnections as previously described with regard to FIG. 26C-5.In one embodiment, operation 2633 for defining the necessary DASinterconnections is performed during a place and route process. However,in other embodiments, operation 2633 can be performed outside of a placeand route process.

FIG. 26D-2 is an illustration showing a flowchart of a method fordefining a dynamic array architecture region of a semiconductor chip, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The methodincludes an operation 2641 for placing a number of DASs on a DAS grid toform a DAS cluster, without regard to the various DAS halos associatedwith the number of DASs. The method also includes an operation 2643 fordefining a DAS halo boundary around a periphery of the DAS cluster, soas to form a DAS halo region outside the periphery of the DAS cluster.An operation 2645 is then performed to define the contents of the DAShalo region to ensure manufacturability of features within the DASs thanform the DAS cluster. In various embodiments, the contents of the DAShalo region can include a number of reinforcement features defined withregard to orientation, size, and spacing, so as to reinforce themanufacture of features within the DASs of the DAS cluster. Also, insome embodiments, one or more portions of the DAS halo region can beleft empty, i.e., without reinforcement features.

The method further includes an operation 2647 for defining necessaryDAS-to-DAS functional interconnections within each level of each DASthat forms the DAS cluster. The DAS-to-DAS functional interconnectionscorrespond to the DAS interconnections as previously described withregard to FIG. 26C-5. In one embodiment, operation 2647 for defining thenecessary DAS interconnections is performed during a place and routeprocess. However, in other embodiments, operation 2647 can be performedoutside of a place and route process.

It should be understood that a DAS can be defined to form a portion ofone or more logic cells, one or more complete logic cells, or acombination of complete and partial logic cells. In one embodiment,logic cell boundaries contain an integer multiple of gate electrodefeatures. More specifically, in this embodiment, logic cell boundariesthat run parallel to the gate electrode features fall on the gateelectrode half-pitch. Thus, in this embodiment, logic cell boundariesare defined based on the gate electrode level virtual grate, such thatthe logic cell boundaries fall on the gate electrode half-pitch. Eachlogic cell is defined to have a cell height and a cell width when viewedin a direction perpendicular to the plane of the substrate. In oneembodiment, the relationship between the conductive feature spacings inthe first and third interconnect levels allows for a selection of thelogic cell height so that the conductive features of the first and thirdinterconnect levels align at the height-defining logic cell borders.

The conductive features in a given level of the logic cell, i.e., in agiven level of the DAS containing the logic cell, are indexed relativeto an origin of the logic cell. For discussion purposes, the origin ofthe logic cell in a given level is considered to be located at a lowerleft corner of the logic cell when viewed in a direction perpendicularto the plane of the substrate. Because logic cell widths are variable, alogic cell boundary in the width direction may not always fall on aconductive feature pitch or half-pitch within a given DAS level (abovethe gate electrode level). Therefore, depending on the origin of thelogic cell relative to the virtual grate of the given DAS level, theconductive features in the given DAS level may need to be shiftedrelative to the logic cell origin in order to align with the virtualgrate of the given DAS level. The shifting of conductive features in agiven level of a logic cell relative of the origin of the logic cell iscalled phasing. Therefore, phasing provides for alignment of conductivefeatures in a given level of a logic cell to the virtual grate of theDAS for the given level, depending on the location of the origin of thelogic cell. For example, in the case where the gate electrode virtualgrate extends across logic cell boundaries, phasing may be required tomaintain alignment of second interconnect level conductive features in agiven logic cell to the second interconnect level virtual grate.

FIG. 33 is an illustration showing an example of different phasings in asecond interconnect level of adjacently disposed logic cells definedwithin a DAS, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. FIG. 33 shows three exemplary cells (Cell 1, Phase A; Cell 1,Phase B; and Cell 1, Phase C) disposed adjacent to each other in a DAS.Therefore, each of the three cells share a virtual grate in each levelof the DAS. To facilitate description of the phasing concept, the secondinterconnect level conductive features 3303 of each cell are shownsuperimposed over the gate electrode level conductive features 3301 ofeach cell. The cell boundaries in the width direction fall on the gateelectrode half-pitch. Also, the second interconnect level and gateelectrode level conductive features spacings are defined based on a 4:3pitch ratio, such that four second interconnect level conductive featurepitches are provided for every three gate electrode level conductivefeature pitches. The original of each cell is shown to reside at thecell's lower left corner.

Each phasing of Cell 1 for the second interconnect level is defined byan indexing of the second interconnect level conductive features to theorigin of the cell. As shown in the example of FIG. 33, the index, i.e.,spacing, of the second interconnect level conductive features relativeto the origin is consecutively reduced for each of Phases A, B, and C.By defining each level of each logic cell to have an appropriate phase,it is possible to place logic cells next to one another in a common DASsuch that conductive features defined within the various logic cellswithin a given DAS level can be aligned to a common virtual grateassociated with the given DAS level. Additionally, it should beappreciated that adjacent cells within a DAS can be defined and placedso as to share conductive features in one or more levels of the DAS. Forexample, the Phase B and C instances of Cell 1 in FIG. 33 are depictedas sharing gate electrode level and second interconnect level conductivefeatures.

FIG. 27A is an illustration showing an exemplary DAS 2700 that defines alogic cell, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.By way of example, the DAS 2700 defines a complete logic cell. The viewof DAS 2700 in FIG. 27A shows a number of diffusion regions 2703 definedwithin a portion of a substrate, a number of diffusion contacts 2705, anumber of gate electrode linear conductive features 2707, and a numbergate electrode contacts 2709. A DAS boundary 2701 is defined about theperiphery of the DAS 2700. In some embodiments, such as the DAS10example previously described with regard to FIGS. 18-24D, each componentof the DAS is defined within the DAS boundary. However, in someembodiments, DAS interior features such as diffusion regions anddiffusion contacts can be defined to extend beyond the DAS boundary andcontinue to be considered an integral component of the DAS. For example,in the DAS 2700, the diffusion regions 2703 and a number of thediffusion contacts 2705 are defined to extend beyond the DAS boundary2701. The portions of the diffusion regions 2703 and diffusion contacts2705 that extend outside of the DAS boundary 2701 remain integralcomponents of the DAS 2700.

Extension of DAS components beyond the DAS boundary may enable sharingof the extended DAS components by one or more neighboring DASs. Forexample, FIG. 27B shows a number of instances of the example DAS 2700placed adjacent to each other so as to share DAS components that extendbeyond the DAS boundary. More specifically, DAS instances 2701A and2701B are oriented in the same way as the example DAS 2700, and areplaced next to each other such that their neighboring boundary segmentsare colinear. The placement of DAS instances 2701A and 2701B enables asharing of diffusion region portions and diffusion contact portionsbetween the DAS instances 2701A and 2701B. Each of DAS instances 2701Cand 2701D represents the example DAS 2700 having been flipped in they-direction. Each of DAS instances 2701C and 2701D are placed next toeach other such that their neighboring boundary segments are colinear.The placement of DAS instances 2701C and 2701D enables a sharing ofdiffusion region portions and diffusion contact portions between the DASinstances 2701C and 2701D. Also, placement of DAS instances 2701C and2701D enables sharing of diffusion region portions and diffusion contactportions between the DAS instances 2701C and 2701A, between the DASinstances 2701C and 2701B, and between the DAS instances 2701D and2701B.

FIG. 28A is an illustration showing a flowchart of a method fordesigning a semiconductor chip having one or more functionallyinterfaced dynamic array sections (DASs), in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention. The method includes an operation2801 for laying out a virtual grate for conductive features used todefine a gate electrode level of a DAS. The virtual grate is defined bya framework of parallel lines defined at a substantially constant pitch.An operation 2803 is provided for arranging one or more conductivefeatures along every line of the virtual grate. Each conductive featureis arranged on a given line of a given virtual grate such that a widthof the conductive feature is substantially centered upon the given lineof the given virtual grate. As previously mentioned, the width of theconductive feature is measured in a coplanar and perpendicularrelationship relative to the framework of parallel lines that define thevirtual grate along which the conductive feature is arranged.

It should be appreciated that the arrangement of conductive features inoperation 2803 is performed to form transistor devices and enableinterconnection of the transistor devices and other electroniccomponents (e.g., resistors, diodes, capacitors, etc.) to form afunctional electronic circuit. For each line of the virtual grate, anoperation 2805 is performed to define a gap between proximate ends ofeach pair of adjacent conductive features which are arranged along acommon line of the virtual grate. Each gap is defined to maintain asubstantially consistent separation between proximate ends of conductivefeatures. Within the gate electrode level of the DAS, some of theconductive features are designed to define gate electrodes of transistordevices. In one embodiment, a size of each gap defined between proximateends of each pair of adjacent conductive features in a given level ofthe dynamic array section is minimized within electrical performanceconstraints so as to maximize an overall conductive feature occupancy ofthe lines that define the virtual grate of the given level. Also, in oneembodiment, arrangement of the one or more conductive features alongevery line of the virtual grate of a given level of the DAS is performedto avoid adjacent gaps in adjacent lines that define the virtual grateof the given level.

The method further includes an operation 2807 for defining eachconductive feature to be devoid of a substantial change in direction,such that the conductive features remain substantially aligned to theframework of parallel lines of the virtual grate. In one embodiment, asubstantial change in direction of any given conductive feature existswhen a width of the given conductive feature at any point thereonchanges by more than 50% of a nominal width of the given conductivefeature. In another embodiment, a substantial change in direction of anygiven conductive feature exists when a width of the given conductivefeature changes from any first location on the given conductive featureto any second location on the given conductive feature by more than 50%of the given conductive feature width at the first location.

FIG. 28B is an illustration showing a continuation of the flowchart ofthe method of FIG. 28A, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. An operation 2809 is performed to lay out another virtualgrate for conductive features used to define conductive lines of anotherlevel of the DAS. The other virtual grate of operation 2809 is definedby a framework of parallel lines defined at a substantially constantpitch. Also, the other virtual grate of operation 2809 is defined suchthat each virtual grate of the DAS is perpendicular to an adjacent levelvirtual grate. An operation 2811 is performed to arrange one or moreconductive features along every line of the other virtual grate laid outin operation 2809. In operation 2811, the conductive features arearranged along every line of the virtual grate laid out in operation2809 so as to enable interconnection of the transistor devices and otherelectronic components (e.g., resistors, diodes, capacitors, etc.) toform a functional electronic circuit.

For each line of the virtual grate laid out in operation 2809, anoperation 2813 is performed to define a gap between proximate ends ofeach pair of adjacent conductive features which are arranged along acommon line of the virtual grate, such that each gap is defined tomaintain a substantially consistent separation between proximate ends ofeach pair of adjacent conductive features arranged along the virtualgrate. Also, in an operation 2815 each conductive feature arranged inoperation 2811 is defined to be devoid of a substantial change indirection, such that the conductive features remain substantiallyaligned to the framework of parallel lines of the virtual grate. Themethod further includes an operation 2817 for designing additionallevels of the DAS by repeating operations 2809 through 2815.

Additionally, the method includes an operation 2819 for defining anumber of gate electrode contacts to electrically connect the conductivefeatures designed to define gate electrodes of transistor devices in thegate electrode level of the DAS to conductive features defined in one ormore other levels of the DAS. Each gate electrode contact is defined toperpendicularly overlap a conductive feature designed to define a gateelectrode of a transistor device in the gate electrode level of the DAS.An operation 2820 is also provided for defining a number of diffusioncontacts to electrically connect the source/drain regions of thetransistor devices in the DAS to conductive features defined in one ormore levels of the DAS. An operation 2821 is also provided for defininga number of vias within the DAS so as to electrically connect conductivefeatures within different levels of the DAS so as to form the functionalelectronic circuit.

FIG. 28C is an illustration showing an expansion of the operation 2809of FIG. 28B, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.An operation 2823 is provided to identify the substantially constantpitch used to define the virtual grate for a given one of the levels ofthe DAS that is oriented in the same direction as the other virtualgrate to be laid out in operation 2809. An operation 2825 is thenperformed to determine a pitch relationship between the substantiallyconstant pitch identified in operation 2823 and the substantiallyconstant pitch to be used to define the other virtual grate to be laidout in operation 2809. An operation 2827 is then performed to use thesubstantially constant pitch identified in operation 2823 and the pitchrelationship determined in operation 2825 to determine the substantiallyconstant pitch to be used to define the other virtual grate to be laidout in 2809.

In one embodiment, the pitch relationship determined in operation 2825defines a pitch multiplier by which the substantially constant pitchidentified in operation 2823 is to be multiplied to determine thesubstantially constant pitch to be used to define the other virtualgrate laid out in operation 2809. In one embodiment, considering thatthe level of the DAS for which the substantially constant pitch isidentified in operation 2823 is the first interconnect level of thedynamic array section (above the gate electrode level of the DAS), andconsidering that the other level of the DAS defined by the other virtualgrate to be laid out in 2809 is a third interconnect level of the DAS,the pitch relationship determined in operation 2825 is given by,

$\begin{matrix}{{3{rd\_ level}{\_ pitch}} = {\frac{\left\lbrack {(2)\left( {1{st\_ level}{\_ power}{\_ pitch}} \right)} \right\rbrack + \left\lbrack {\left( {b - 1} \right)\left( {1{st\_ level}{\_ pitch}} \right)} \right\rbrack}{\left( {a - 1} \right)}.}} & {{Equation}\mspace{20mu} 2}\end{matrix}$

wherein (3rd_level_pitch) is the substantially constant pitch by whichthe virtual grate of the third interconnect level is defined,wherein (1st_level_power_pitch) is a center-to-center separation betweena power rail in the first interconnect level and an adjacent conductivefeature in the first interconnect level,wherein the power rail is a conductive feature used to supply eitherpower or ground to the dynamic array section,wherein (1st_level_pitch) is the substantially constant pitch by whichthe virtual grate of the first interconnect level is defined,wherein (a) is the number of parallel lines defined within the virtualgrate of the third interconnect level, andwherein (b) is the number of parallel lines defined within the virtualgrate of the first interconnect level not including the virtual linesfor power rails.

In one embodiment, the substantially constant pitch that defines theframework of parallel lines of the virtual grate for a given level isset to optimize lithographic reinforcement during manufacture of theconductive features arranged along the lines of the virtual grate forthe given level. In another embodiment, the substantially constant pitchthat defines the framework of parallel lines of the virtual grate for agiven level is set to optimize a density of the conductive featuresarranged along the lines of the virtual grate for the given level. Inyet another embodiment, the substantially constant pitch that definesthe framework of parallel lines of the virtual grate for a given levelis set to enable accurate prediction of the manufacturability of theconductive features arranged along the lines of the virtual grate forthe given level.

It should be understood that some of the conductive features in one ormore levels of the dynamic array section can be non-functional featureswith respect to electrical circuit functionality. Such non-functionalfeatures are defined to enhance manufacturability of other conductivefeatures. In one embodiment, some of the non-functional features areomitted in locations where enhancement of manufacturability of otherconductive features by the non-functional features is not required.Additionally, it should be understood that a given line of a virtualgrate used to define any of the levels of the DAS can have arrangedthereon one or more non-functional features such that the given line iscompletely occupied by the one or more non-functional features. Also, itshould be understood that a given line of a virtual grate used to defineany of the levels of the DAS can have arranged thereon one or moreconductive features that do not include any non-functional features. Itshould be further understood that a given line of a virtual grate usedto define any of the levels of the DAS can have arranged thereon anumber of conductive features that are functional features with respectto electrical circuit functionality, and a number of non-functionalfeatures.

FIG. 29A is an illustration showing a flowchart of a method fordesigning a semiconductor chip having one or more functionallyinterfaced dynamic array sections, in accordance with one embodiment ofthe present invention. The method includes an operation 2901 fordefining a DAS grid on a portion of the chip. The DAS grid is defined bya virtual network of perpendicular gridlines projected upon the portionof the chip. An operation 2903 is performed to define boundaries of aDAS, such that each of the defined boundaries of the DAS aligns with agridline of the DAS grid. The DAS represents a portion of the chipdefined according to the dynamic array architecture. It should beunderstood that the DAS can be defined to have essentially anytwo-dimensional shape having each boundary thereof defined along agridline of the DAS grid. The method also includes an operation 2905 fordefining one or more diffusion regions to be formed within a substrateportion of the DAS. An operation 2907 is further provided for defining aplurality of levels of the chip above the substrate portion within theDAS.

FIG. 29B is an illustration showing an expansion of the operation 2907of FIG. 29A, in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.An operation 2909 is provided for defining a virtual grate for each ofthe plurality of levels of the DAS. The virtual grate of operation 2909is defined by a framework of parallel lines spaced at a substantiallyconstant pitch, such that the framework of parallel lines that definethe virtual grate for a particular level of the DAS are oriented to besubstantially perpendicular to the framework of parallel lines thatdefine the virtual grate for either a level above or a level below theparticular level. In one embodiment, the substantially constant pitchused to define the virtual grate for a particular level of the DAS isdetermined by a relationship with the substantially constant pitch usedto define the virtual grate for another level of the DAS having a sameorientation as the virtual grate for the particular level. Also, in oneembodiment, the substantially constant pitch that defines the frameworkof parallel lines of the virtual grate for a given level of the DAS isset to enable accurate prediction of the manufacturability of the linearconductive features defined along the framework of lines that define thevirtual grate for the given level.

The method further includes an operation 2911 for defining a number oflinear conductive features along the framework of lines that define thevirtual grate in each of the plurality of levels of the DAS. Each of thelinear conductive features is defined to be devoid of a substantialchange in direction relative to the line of the virtual grate alongwhich the linear conductive feature is defined. Some of the lines thatdefine the virtual grates in the plurality of levels of the DAS havedefined thereon multiple linear conductive features having proximateends separated by a gap. In one embodiment, each of these gaps isdefined to maintain a substantially uniform distance between proximateends of linear conductive features within a given level of the chipwithin the DAS.

Within a gate electrode level of the DAS, a number of linear gateelectrode features are formed by some of the linear conductive featuresdefined over one or more of the diffusion regions formed within thesubstrate portion. The method further includes an operation 2913 fordefining a number of gate electrode contacts to electrically connect thelinear gate electrode features to linear conductive features defined inone or more levels above the gate electrode level. In one embodiment,each of the gate electrode contacts is defined to perpendicularlyoverlap a linear gate electrode feature. An operation 2914 is alsoprovided for defining a number of diffusion contacts to electricallyconnect the source/drain regions of the transistor devices in the DAS toconductive features defined in one or more levels of the DAS. The methodalso includes an operation 2915 for defining a number of vias within theDAS so as to electrically connect linear conductive features withindifferent levels of the DAS.

FIG. 30 is an illustration showing a flowchart of a method for designinga DAS of a semiconductor chip, in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. The method includes an operation 3001 for definingone or more diffusion regions to be formed within a substrate portion ofthe chip. The method also includes an operation 3003 for defining aplurality of levels of the DAS above the substrate portion of the chip.Each level of the DAS is defined to include linear conductive featuresarranged along a virtual grate associated with the level. The virtualgrate of each level of the DAS is defined by a framework of parallellines spaced at a substantially constant pitch. The virtual grates inadjacent levels of the DAS are oriented to be perpendicular to eachother.

The method also includes an operation 3005 for laying out a full-lengthlinear conductive feature along a full length of each line of eachvirtual grate of each level of the DAS. In an operation 3007, some ofthe full-length linear conductive features are segmented into a numberof linear conductive segments. Segmenting of a given full-length linearconductive feature is performed by placing one or more gaps along thefull-length linear conductive feature. In one embodiment, gaps placedalong the full-length conductive features within a given level of theDAS are uniformly defined.

Throughout the DAS, a first portion of the linear conductive segmentsare defined to form conductive elements of an electronic circuit.Correspondingly, a remaining portion of the linear conductive segmentsare defined to support manufacturing of the first portion and do notform conductive elements of the electronic circuit. Additionally, eachlinear conductive segment throughout the DAS is defined to be devoid ofa substantial change in direction relative to the line of the virtualgrate along which the linear conductive segment is laid out.

The method further includes an operation 3009 for defining a number ofgate electrode contacts to electrically connect conductive featureswithin a gate electrode level of the DAS, i.e., linear gate electrodefeatures, to linear conductive features defined in one or more levelsabove the gate electrode level of the DAS. In one embodiment, each ofthe gate electrode contacts is defined to perpendicularly overlap alinear gate electrode feature. An operation 3010 is also provided fordefining a number of diffusion contacts to electrically connect thesource/drain regions of the transistor devices in the DAS to conductivefeatures defined in one or more levels of the DAS. The method furtherincludes an operation 3011 for defining a number of vias within thedynamic array section so as to electrically connect linear conductivefeatures or segments thereof within different levels of the DAS.

FIG. 31 is an illustration showing a flowchart of a method for defininga dynamic array section to be manufactured on a semiconductor chip, inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention. The methodincludes an operation 3101 for defining a peripheral boundary of thedynamic array section. The method also includes an operation 3103 fordefining a manufacturing assurance halo outside the boundary of thedynamic array section. An extent of the manufacturing assurance halo ina perpendicular direction away from the peripheral boundary of thedynamic array section is defined to ensure that each chip layout featuredefined outside of the manufacturing assurance halo is not capable ofadversely affecting the manufacturing of conductive features inside theboundary of the dynamic array section. In one embodiment, a number ofthe conductive features inside the boundary of the dynamic array sectionare defined to extend beyond the boundary of the dynamic array sectionthrough the manufacturing assurance halo. Also, in one embodiment, anouter periphery of the manufacturing assurance halo aligns withgridlines of a dynamic array section grid used to align the peripheralboundary of the dynamic array section. Also in one embodiment, thedynamic array section is defined by a plurality of levels of the chipwithin the boundary of the dynamic array section, and a separatemanufacturing assurance halo is independently and respectively definedfor each of the plurality of levels of the dynamic array section.

The method further includes an operation 3105 for controlling chiplayout features within the manufacturing assurance halo to ensure thatmanufacturing of conductive features inside the boundary of the dynamicarray section is not adversely affected by chip layout features withinthe manufacturing assurance halo. In one embodiment, controlling chiplayout features within the manufacturing assurance halo is performed byplacing the dynamic array section on the chip such that chip layoutfeatures not associated with the dynamic array section are only allowedto encroach within the manufacturing assurance halo when suchencroachment does not adversely affect manufacturing of conductivefeatures inside the boundary of the dynamic array section.

In one embodiment, the boundary of the dynamic array section is definedby a circuitous arrangement of boundary segments. Each boundary segmenthas an associated manufacturing assurance halo segment. Also, eachmanufacturing assurance halo segment is assigned a manufacturingcompatibility identifier. In this embodiment, controlling chip layoutfeatures within the manufacturing assurance halo is performed by placingthe dynamic array section on the chip such that each manufacturingassurance halo segment is allowed to overlap a manufacturing assurancehalo segment of a neighboring dynamic array section having a samemanufacturing compatibility identifier. Also in this embodiment,controlling chip layout features within the manufacturing assurance halois performed by placing the dynamic array section on the chip such thateach manufacturing assurance halo segment is not allowed to overlap amanufacturing assurance halo segment of a neighboring dynamic arraysection having a different manufacturing compatibility identifier.

FIG. 32 is an illustration showing a flowchart of a method for designinga semiconductor chip having one or more functionally interfaced dynamicarray sections, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention. The method includes an operation 3201 for selecting a dynamicarray section to be defined on a portion of the chip. The selecteddynamic array section has an associated manufacturing assurance halodefined outside a boundary of the selected dynamic array section. Themethod also includes an operation 3203 for placing the selected dynamicarray section within a layout of the portion of the chip, such thatlayout features not associated with the selected dynamic array sectionand within the manufacturing assurance halo are compatible with themanufacturing assurance halo so as to avoid adversely impactingmanufacturability of the selected dynamic array section.

In one embodiment, the selected dynamic array section is defined by aplurality of levels of the chip within the boundary of the selecteddynamic array section. In this embodiment, a separate manufacturingassurance halo is independently and respectively associated with each ofthe plurality of levels of the selected dynamic array section. An extentof each manufacturing assurance halo in a perpendicular direction awayfrom the boundary of the selected dynamic array section is defined toensure that each chip layout feature defined outside of themanufacturing assurance halo is not capable of adversely affecting themanufacturing of conductive features inside the boundary of the selecteddynamic array section.

In one embodiment of the method of FIG. 32, the boundary of the selecteddynamic array section is defined by a circuitous arrangement of boundarysegments, and each boundary segment has an associated manufacturingassurance halo segment. Each manufacturing assurance halo segment isassigned a manufacturing compatibility identifier. In this embodiment,operation 3203 is performed by placing the selected dynamic arraysection within the layout of the portion of the chip such that eachmanufacturing assurance halo segment is allowed to overlap amanufacturing assurance halo segment of a neighboring dynamic arraysection having a same manufacturing compatibility identifier. Also inthis embodiment, operation 3203 is performed by placing the selecteddynamic array section within the layout of the portion of the chip suchthat each manufacturing assurance halo segment is not allowed to overlapa manufacturing assurance halo segment of a neighboring dynamic arraysection having a different manufacturing compatibility identifier.

In one embodiment, operation 3203 is performed by placing the selecteddynamic array section within the layout of the portion of the chip suchthat a number of manufacturing assurance halo segments are separatedfrom a number of manufacturing assurance halo segments of one or moreneighboring dynamic array sections having a same manufacturingcompatibility identifier, thereby leaving a space between the selecteddynamic array section and the one or more neighboring dynamic arraysections. In a further instance of this embodiment, a chip layoutfeature not associated with a dynamic array section is defined withinthe space between the selected dynamic array section and the one or moreneighboring dynamic array sections.

The invention described herein can be embodied as computer readable codeon a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium is any datastorage device that can store data which can be thereafter be read by acomputer system. Examples of the computer readable medium include harddrives, network attached storage (NAS), read-only memory, random-accessmemory, CD-ROMs, CD-Rs, CD-RWs, magnetic tapes, and other optical andnon-optical data storage devices. The computer readable medium can alsobe distributed over a network coupled computer systems so that thecomputer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion.Additionally, a graphical user interface (GUI) implemented as computerreadable code on a computer readable medium can be developed to providea user interface for performing any embodiment of the present invention.

While this invention has been described in terms of several embodiments,it will be appreciated that those skilled in the art upon reading thepreceding specifications and studying the drawings will realize variousalterations, additions, permutations and equivalents thereof. Therefore,it is intended that the present invention includes all such alterations,additions, permutations, and equivalents as fall within the true spiritand scope of the invention.

1. A semiconductor chip configured to include one or more distinct butfunctionally interfaced dynamic array sections, comprising: a dynamicarray section on the semiconductor chip, the dynamic array sectionfollowing a dynamic array architecture, the dynamic array architecturerequiring conductive features to be linearly defined along a virtualgrate in each of a plurality of levels of the dynamic array section, andeach level in the plurality of levels having a respective virtual gratethat is perpendicular to another virtual grate that is either a levelabove or a level below, the dynamic array architecture further defined,(i) wherein each virtual grate is defined by a framework of parallellines spaced at about a constant pitch, (ii) wherein given ones of theparallel lines in the virtual grate are occupied by multiple conductivefeatures and a substantially uniform gap is maintained between proximateends of adjacent conductive features that occupy a common line in thevirtual grate; and (iii) wherein the substantially uniform gap betweenthe proximate ends of adjacent conductive features is maintained withineach line that is occupied by multiple conductive features within agiven virtual grate.
 2. The semiconductor chip as recited in claim 1,wherein the semiconductor chip includes a substrate, and the dynamicarray section is defined on a portion of the substrate.
 3. Thesemiconductor chip as recited in claim 1, wherein the dynamic arraysection is defined to have boundaries which align with gridlines of adynamic array section grid, the dynamic array section grid defined by avirtual network of perpendicular gridlines projected upon a portion ofthe semiconductor chip, and wherein the dynamic array section is definedto have essentially any two-dimensional shape having each boundarythereof defined along a gridline of the dynamic array section grid. 4.The semiconductor chip as recited in claim 1, wherein a number of linesof a given virtual grate are not occupied by any conductive features. 5.The semiconductor chip as recited in claim 1, wherein the constant pitchthat defines the framework of parallel lines of the virtual grate is setto optimize circuit manufacturability, circuit performance, or circuitreliability.
 6. The semiconductor chip as recited in claim 1, whereineach of the conductive features linearly defined along the virtual grateis devoid of a substantial change in direction, wherein the substantialchange in direction exists when a width of the conductive feature at anypoint thereon changes by more than fifty percent of a nominal width ofthe conductive feature, wherein the width of the conductive feature ismeasured in a coplanar and perpendicular relationship relative to theframework of parallel lines that define the virtual grate.
 7. Thesemiconductor chip as recited in claim 1, wherein each of the conductivefeatures linearly defined along the virtual grate is devoid of asubstantial change in direction, wherein the substantial change indirection exists when a width of the conductive feature changes from anyfirst location on the conductive feature to any second location on theconductive feature by more than fifty percent of the conductive featurewidth at the first location, wherein the width of the conductive featureis measured in a coplanar and perpendicular relationship relative to theframework of parallel lines that define the virtual grate.
 8. Asemiconductor chip configured to include one or more distinct butfunctionally interfaced dynamic array sections, comprising: (a) a firstsection defined on the semiconductor chip, the first section havinglayout features that do not follow a dynamic array architecture; (b) asecond section on the semiconductor chip, the second section followingthe dynamic array architecture so that the second section includes anumber of dynamic array sections, the dynamic array architecturerequiring conductive features in each of the dynamic array sections tobe linearly defined along a virtual grate in each of a plurality oflevels of the dynamic array section, and each level in the plurality oflevels having a respective virtual grate that is perpendicular toanother virtual grate that is either a level above or a level below, thedynamic array architecture further defined, (i) wherein each virtualgrate is defined by a framework of parallel lines spaced at a constantpitch, (ii) wherein given ones of the parallel lines in the frameworkare occupied by multiple conductive features and a substantially uniformgap is maintained between proximate ends of adjacent conductive featuresthat occupy a common line in the framework; and (iii) wherein parallellines in the framework having multiple conductive features in commonlines, maintain the substantially uniform gap between the proximate endsof the adjacent conductive features.
 9. The semiconductor chip asrecited in claim 8, wherein some of the conductive features arenon-functional features defined to enhance prediction of semiconductorchip manufacturability.
 10. The semiconductor chip as recited in claim9, wherein some of the conductive features that are non-functionalfeatures are omitted in locations where enhancement of prediction ofsemiconductor chip manufacturability is not required.
 11. Thesemiconductor chip as recited in claim 8, wherein a number of thesubstantially uniform gaps respectively maintained between proximateends of adjacent conductive features are placed to segment theconductive features so as to form transistor devices and interconnectthe transistor devices to form a functional electronic circuit.
 12. Thesemiconductor chip as recited in claim 8, wherein a size of thesubstantially uniform gap maintained between proximate ends of adjacentconductive features in a given level of the dynamic array section isminimized within electrical performance constraints so as to maximize anoverall conductive feature occupancy amount of the lines that define thevirtual grate of the given level.
 13. The semiconductor chip as recitedin claim 8, wherein a number of substantially uniform gaps respectivelymaintained between proximate ends of adjacent conductive features in agiven level of the dynamic array section are placed to avoid adjacentgaps in adjacent lines that define the virtual grate of the given level.14. The semiconductor chip as recited in claim 8, wherein the constantpitch that defines the framework of parallel lines of the virtual grateis set to either optimize lithographic reinforcement during manufactureof the conductive features defined to occupy the lines of the virtualgrate, optimize a density of the conductive features defined to occupythe lines of the virtual grate, or optimize both lithographicreinforcement during manufacture of the conductive features and adensity of the conductive features defined to occupy the lines of thevirtual grate.
 15. A semiconductor device, comprising: a substrateportion allocated for a dynamic array section, the substrate portionhaving at least one diffusion region defined therein; a first pluralityof linear conductive features defined in a first level over thesubstrate portion, the first plurality of linear conductive featuresdisposed according to a first virtual grate projected upon the substrateportion, the first virtual grate defined by a framework of parallellines spaced at a constant pitch, each of the first plurality of linearconductive features disposed upon a line of the first virtual grate suchthat manufacturability of the linear conductive feature and itsneighboring linear conductive features within the first level can beaccurately predicted, wherein a uniform separation distance is used toseparate proximate ends of adjacent linear conductive features within acommon line of the first virtual grate, the uniform separation distanceapplied consistently within the first level across each line of thefirst virtual grate; and a second plurality of linear conductivefeatures defined in a second level over the first level, the secondplurality of linear conductive features disposed according to a secondvirtual grate projected upon the substrate portion, the second virtualgrate defined by a framework of parallel lines spaced at a constantpitch, the lines of the second virtual grate oriented to beperpendicular to the lines of the first virtual grate, each of thesecond plurality of linear conductive features disposed upon a line ofthe second virtual grate such that manufacturability of the linearconductive feature and its neighboring linear conductive features withinthe second level can be accurately predicted.
 16. A semiconductor deviceas recited in claim 15, wherein each of the first plurality of linearconductive features and second plurality of conductive features has alength and a width defined within a plane parallel to the substrateportion, and wherein each of the first plurality of linear conductivefeatures and second plurality of linear conductive features is devoid ofa substantial change in direction along its length.
 17. A semiconductordevice as recited in claim 16, wherein each of the first plurality oflinear conductive features is disposed upon a given line of the firstvirtual grate such that its width is substantially centered upon thegiven line of the first virtual grate, and wherein each of the secondplurality of conductive features is disposed upon a given line of thesecond virtual grate such that its width is substantially centered uponthe given line of the second virtual grate.
 18. A semiconductor deviceas recited in claim 16, wherein the substantial change in directionalong the length of each of the first plurality of linear conductivefeatures and second plurality of linear conductive features exists whenthe width of the linear conductive feature at any point thereon changesby more than fifty percent of a nominal width of the linear conductivefeature.
 19. A semiconductor device as recited in claim 16, wherein thesubstantial change in direction along the length of each of the firstplurality of linear conductive features and second plurality of linearconductive features exists when the linear conductive feature widthchanges from any first location thereon to any second location thereonby more than fifty percent of the linear conductive feature width at thefirst location.
 20. A semiconductor device, comprising: a substrateportion allocated for a dynamic array section, the substrate portionhaving at least one diffusion region defined therein; a first pluralityof linear conductive features defined in a first level over thesubstrate portion, the first plurality of linear conductive featuresdisposed according to a first virtual grate projected upon the substrateportion, the first virtual grate defined by a framework of parallellines spaced at a constant pitch, each of the first plurality of linearconductive features disposed upon a line of the first virtual grate suchthat manufacturability of the linear conductive feature and itsneighboring linear conductive features within the first level can beaccurately predicted, wherein a number of linear gate electrode featuresare respectively formed by a number of the first plurality of linearconductive features, each of the number of linear gate electrodefeatures defined to occupy a portion of a line of the first virtualgrate that extends over a diffusion region defined within the substrateportion, wherein a number of linear manufacturing reinforcement featuresare respectively formed within the first level by a number of the firstplurality of linear conductive features that do not form linear gateelectrode features, wherein each of the number of linear manufacturingreinforcement features within the first level is defined to be inactivewith respect to electrical circuit functionality; and a second pluralityof linear conductive features defined in a second level over the firstlevel, the second plurality of linear conductive features disposedaccording to a second virtual grate projected upon the substrateportion, the second virtual grate defined by a framework of parallellines spaced at a constant pitch, the lines of the second virtual grateoriented to be perpendicular to the lines of the first virtual grate,each of the second plurality of linear conductive features disposed upona line of the second virtual grate such that manufacturability of thelinear conductive feature and its neighboring linear conductive featureswithin the second level can be accurately predicted.
 21. A semiconductordevice as recited in claim 20, wherein a uniform separation distance isused to separate ends of adjacent linear conductive features within acommon line of the first virtual grate, and wherein the uniformseparation distance is applied consistently within the first levelacross each line of the first virtual grate.
 22. A semiconductor deviceas recited in claim 21, wherein a particular line of the first virtualgrate is either completely occupied by a linear manufacturingreinforcement feature, completely occupied by one or more linear gateelectrode features, occupied by one or more linear gate electrodefeatures and partially occupied by one or more linear manufacturingreinforcement features, or vacant.
 23. A semiconductor device as recitedin claim 20, wherein a uniform separation distance is used to separateends of adjacent linear conductive features within a common line of thesecond virtual grate, and wherein the uniform separation distance isapplied consistently within the second level across each line of thesecond virtual grate.
 24. A semiconductor device as recited in claim 23,wherein a number of level one interconnect features are respectivelyformed by a number of the second plurality of linear conductivefeatures, the number of level one interconnect features defined to beactive with respect to electrical circuit functionality, wherein anumber of linear manufacturing reinforcement features are respectivelyformed within the second level by a number of the second plurality oflinear conductive features that do not form level one interconnectfeatures, wherein each of the number of linear manufacturingreinforcement features within the second level is defined to be inactivewith respect to electrical circuit functionality.
 25. A semiconductordevice as recited in claim 24, wherein a particular line of the secondvirtual grate is either completely occupied by a linear manufacturingreinforcement feature, completely occupied by one or more level oneinterconnect features, partially occupied by one or more level oneinterconnect features and partially occupied by one or more linearmanufacturing reinforcement features, or vacant.